Chaotic sword god
by Ashenemperor
Summary: After death, Jian Chen's spirit was transmigrated into a completely foreign world. Following an extremely fast growth, his enemies piled up one after another before becoming gravely injured once more. On the gates of death, his spirit had mutated, and from that moment henceforth, he would tread on a completely different path of the art of the sword to become the sword God.
1. Jian chen

**Another interesting story for you guys. This one is written by XIN XING XIAO YAO. SO HE OWNS THIS STORY AND NOT ME. THANK YOU AND ENJOY.**

Within a seemingly endless chain of mountain ranges, there were two sword-shaped mountain peaks well over a thousand feet tall and a hundred meters apart from each other as it towered under the vast ocean of clouds.

Both of these sword-shaped mountains were extremely precipitous and looked as if two gods had once stabbed their swords into the world. No matter where one looked, there was no way to climb up these mountains.

At the very top of these peaks, there was only less than a hundred meters between one peak to the next. There was a faint amount of fog that hampered the visibility of the area to a confusing degree. However, despite the hazy visibility, one would still be able to faintly make out two people standing at the very top of the mountain peaks calmly and motionlessly as if they were stone statues. Only their clothes and wind had fluttered with the fierce gale of wind that blew across the sky.

Between these two people, one of them was a youth that was no older than 20 years old. This youth was incredibly handsome with a flawless facial appearances. It could be said that his appearances was simply unrivaled throughout the world and was a natural lady killer. His rather ordinary-looking eyes contained a unique amount attractiveness and fascination to them and seemed as if it could steal the soul of whomever.

The youth had long black hair with a length that reached his waist without being tied up in any way, allowing it to float freely in the fierce wind as if it was dancing. On his back was a single long sword that was wrapped up in a thick white layer of cloth. On the exquisite sword hilt that stuck out from the cloth, one could make out the two words "Light Wind". What was most puzzling about the sword however was the fact that there had been no ropes binding it to the youth at all. It seemed as if it was stuck to the back of the youth without any chance of falling–clearly a very hard display to explain.

This youth's name was Jian Chen, the number one expert with a name that shook the Heavens and the Jianghu with the moniker of "Sword God". His quick sword techniques had long since reached perfection and could be considered the sword master of the generation. Despite being only 20 or so years old, he had already reached a realm of great heights.

The details regarding Jian Chen were relatively unknown to the people of the Jianghu. Aside from that he was an orphan with no affiliations to any school or sect, there was nothing else known about him. His history was essentially a riddle, and the strong style of martial arts and the exquisite sword style he used had been an utter mystery on where to learn it.

And on the other sword-shaped peak a hundred meters away was a single large man wearing black robes. This was an elderly man who looked to be around 50 to 60 years old with hair that was tied up in the same fashion of the neck of a crane. Both of his elderly eyes lit up with a lively spirit that seemed to shine with a light that lit up the entire area. His gaze had been like a sharp sword that would make anyone unwilling to look straight at him. In his hand was a black and thick long sword. But what was most surprising was that this giant sword had no edge to it.

This elderly man was the legendary figure that had disappeared from the Jianghu over a hundred years ago: Dugu Qiubai. But that was only a nickname of his since no one had any idea on what his true name or identity was. The reason for this was because over a hundred years ago, he had defeated every single 'unparalleled' super-experts. Nowadays, the amount of people that knew anything about Dugu Qiubai and were still alive were far and few. But even now, the splendid light he had cast in his former days had been passed on from generation to generation. A hundred years later, his strength was surely much stronger than before; meaning that there was no one that knew just how strong Dugu Qiubai had become.

Silently, Dugu Qiubai stared at the 20 or so years old Jian Chen from a hundred meters away. His eyes were extremely terrifying and seemed to contain a sharp sword-like glare that seemed as if it could freeze someone at times.

"Jian Chen, despite being so young, you have a strength that is no weaker than mine. Your achievements in the way of the sword is something that even I can only hope to attain. But unfortunately, you've killed my one dear disciple, leaving me no choice but to take revenge. No matter what, I will act in place of my disciple for the sake of justice today." Dugu Qiubai's spoke darkly. His previously calm voice had already started to fill up with a bloodlust that would cause people to tremble and shake.

But Jian Chen's face remained calm as ever as he stared back at Dugu Qiubai impassively. His white robes fluttered gently into the air while the hair that dangled at his waist was sent dancing in the wind freely.

"I cannot be blamed for that. It was your disciple that decided to offend me first. It could only be blamed on his lack of skill that he was killed by my own sword." Jian Chen's lips opened and closed gently as the words came flowing out from his mouth.

Laughing angrily, Dugu Qiubai spoke, "A lack of skill? Very well then! Then today I will see just how experienced you are. Let this old man see where you will be able to execute me with your Light Wind Sword."

As he spoke, Dugu Qiubai waved his Heavy Iron Sword. Immediately, a strong amount of Sword Qi began to escape the sword before shooting straight for Jian Chen a hundred meters away with the speed of a lightning bolt.

Unsheathing his sword with an impassive face, Jian Chen quickly drew out the long sword that had been on his back to his hand. This double-edged sword was about 1.3 meters long and two fingers wide with a white light. Stabbing forward with the sword, an even more fierce amount of Sword Qi appeared from the sword and shot towards the jet of Sword Qi from Dugu Qiubai with a speed almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Bang!"

The two rays of Sword Qi collided with a loud explosion that rocked the eardrums. A large wave of Qi scattered away from the epicenter with great speeds, scattering the lingering wisp of mist and clouds nearby.

Straight away, Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai flew straight for each other, leaving the twin peaks they had initially been standing on. As they reached the midway point of the two peaks, they began to engage each in a fierce battle midair.

The two men had strikes that were impeccably fast and the sounds made from their weapons striking against each other had been an endless stream of metallic rings. A sharp amount of Sword Qi shot out from all directions from the two and left giant holes in the landscape around them. As a result, countless of rocks had been sent cascading down a thousand meters below.

Within several breaths worth of time, Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai had already exchanged several hundred blows at lightning quick speeds. Afterwards, the two men had leapt back to their respective mountain peaks. Each person were in a worse-for-wear state and had more than enough tears in their previously perfect clothing.

With a serious expression that seemed to grow even more grim each second, Dugu Qiubai growled, "What a fast sword, it is no wonder that no one in the Jianghu is able to break past your sword. But, it is powerless against this old man." Dugu Qiubai paused for a moment before continuing to say, "If we continue on like this, the victor of this match will be hard to determine. We may as well use our strongest strike to find out the victor." With that, Dugu Qiubai suddenly exploded with power that seemed as if it was a single giant sword that pierced into the skies.

Growing serious as well, Jian Chen too began to spike with a large amount of power that was by no means weaker than Dugu Qiubai.

The power of the two men continued to escalate with an earth-shattering amount of force that filled the entire area. Soon enough, the power of the two began to cover the both of them and all over the entire mountains. Even the clouds themselves had a hole in them from the power exuded by the two. A fierce gale began to scream and whistle with an ear-piercing sound that was reminiscent of a ghost wailing into the winds. Down in the forests below, countless of animals began to let out terrified sounds as they began to scuttle away from the area as far as their limbs could take them. The strength of the two men on the peaks continued to escalate as they prepared to unleash their strongest strike.

"Kacha!" "Kacha!"

Not too far away in the mountains, several small trees were unable to withstand the power of the two. Snapping and breaking into several pieces, they were sent flying into the air and far away from the place.

While Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai's strength continued to rise, a stream of Qi began to stream around them in a single revolution. Any trees or pieces of grass in the area had been pressed down against the ground in the face of their might, and several of the larger trees had even began to shake back and forth.

At the same time, a dazzling glow of white light appeared in Jian Chen's Light Wind Sword while a jet-black light appeared in Dugu Qiubai's Heavy Iron Sword.

The Qi circulating around the two men began to grow stronger and stronger until there was a rich white glow that surrounded Jian Chen completely, and a deep black glow that surrounded Dugu Qiubai inside. The both of them had disappeared into their respective colors while all that was left to see was two balls of light shining with the exact opposite colors of each other.

"Yin!"

Jian Chen's Light Wind Sword had already been filled with a resplendent glow and had started to shake with a powerful Sword Qi that would cause anyone to feel frightened. His black hair had fluttered crazily in the winds while the white robe he wore fluttered with it. His entire body floated in midair, and a single look was all it took for him to be identified as a war god with an indomitable strength.

As the two men's strength continued to climb up to the peak, the two men suddenly let out a furious roar that shook the heavens like a bolt of lightning and pierced the ear drums. Straight away, a beautiful bright white light and a dark black light shot towards each other with incredible speed. In the instant where the two would collide against each other…

There had been no sound as one would expect. When everything had calmed down, one could see that Jian Chen and Dugu Qiubai had changed spots. Each one were now on the other mountain peak away from each other with an equally pal face. A steady stream of blood could be seen flowing from Jian Chen's chest, staining his pure white robes instantly. In that split-instance where the two sides had crossed paths, Dugu Qiubai's sword had pierced through Jian Chen's heart.

As for Dugu Qiubai, he had lost his entire right arm, meaning that he would not be able to wield a sword any longer. The Heavy Iron Sword that had been in it had long since dropped down a thousand meters into the cliffs below. At the time where he had pierced Jian Chen's heart, he had lost his right arm in exchange.

Standing silently on top of the mountain peak, a stream of fresh blood began to slowly leak from his mouth. His white face continued to grow paler and paler before it became as pale as paper. His heart had been pierced by Dugu Qiubai's sword, meaning that he was doomed to be stuck in an impasse where death was inevitable.

"Hahaha…" Suddenly, Dugu Qiubai began to laugh from the mountain peak he was standing on. "Jian Chen, with your talent, you would most likely be able to defeat me given several years. But how unfortunate it is for you that your strength is lacking from mine. In the end, you were still defeated by my hand." As he spoke, Dugu Qiubai sighed shortly. "Ai…for an old man like me to see to the funeral of a genius, what a sorrowful matter. But however, I must do what I must to avenge my disciple."

Sensing that he was slowly being cut away from the power of life, Jian Chen began to close his eyes. At that moment, he was at peace with himself. Death to him was no important manner. After all, after traveling so many years in the Jianghu, Jian Chen had killed many men and death had long since dulled his emotions. The only emotion he had felt in his heart was that he would have no more chances to explore the pinnacle of the way of the sword.

Just as Jian Chen submitted himself to a realm of calm, a sudden but strange feeling appeared within Jian Chen's mind. In that crucial moment, Jian Chen's spirit seemed to have harmonized with his long sword. He was the sword, and the sword was him; there had been no difference between the two of them. It was almost as if the sword had already became a part of his soul.

At the same time, a powerful and pure amount of world energy began to descend from the skies before flowing into his mind one stream after another. As it entered, it began to perfectly harmonize with his soul, and as the energy of the world continued to pour into him, Jian Chen could distinctly feel that his own "spirit" began to grow at an accelerated rate. Simultaneously, his soul began to leave his body and into the boundless mountains and fields ahead. At this very moment, everything within five thousand meters could be distinctly seen in Jian Chen's mind. He could even see a single mosquito on the ground living as it pleased without a problem.

At the verge of his death, he had somehow managed to breakthrough….


	2. Changyang xiang tian

Suddenly, the sword in Jian Chen's hand started to control itself; it was as if the longsword had a mind of its own. Unexpectedly, the sword shot toward Dugu Qiubai like a bolt of lighting, traveling at a very high speed.

The speed of the longsword was almost inconceivable. Dugu Qiubai only reacted when the sword had reached his throat. The sword was infused with an extraordinarily fierce sword qi. Dugu Qiubai widened his eyes in fear just as the longsword pierced through his neck. After finishing the strike, mist appeared from the hilt of the sword. The mist swirled around in midair momentarily before the sword returned to Jian Chen's hand.

A fist-sized hole slowly appeared in the middle of Dugu Qiubai's throat. The sword tip had expanded as it pierced through Dugu Qiubai's neck, enlarging the wound. If not for that, it would have been impossible for a sword that thin to create a wound of that size.

Dugu Qiubai's eyes were wide open as he stared at the sword, not believing what he saw. After all, he had just witnessed an impossible feat. He slowly opened his mouth to say something, but unfortunately, his throat had already been impaled, rendering him speechless. With a final look of disbelief and terror, he slowly crumpled to the floor, never to stand again.

Jian Chen clasped his sword silently before looking at the collapsed Dugu Qiubai; a gasp was threatening to escape from his own mouth. He didn't think that in this final hour of life he would make a breakthrough into the realm of the Sword God. But however it was for naught, as he himself was close to death as well.

Inwardly sighing, Jian Chen's eyes slowly began to dim. Even though the breakthrough empowered his body, it was very hard to escape death, especially when one's innards are skewered.

Soon after, Jian Chen followed Dugu Qiubai's footsteps into the afterlife, his body falling to the ground, proceeding into the abyss.

After Jian Chen had fallen, the area in which he and Dugu Qiubai had fallen started to shake. So much so, that the two sword-like mountain peaks emitted a loud sound that shook the heavens and split the two mountains in half. Countless boulders and stones tumbled down the mountainside, creating an avalanche in all directions. The sky turned purple and green and the heavens and earth were illuminated. The colors danced and mixed to form a beautiful picture, and it was a shame that neither Jian Chen nor Dugu Qiubai were alive to see it, or the series of events which would follow afterwards…

Inside a spacious and luxurious mansion, was a room decorated with great splendor. Outside this room, a large group of people had gathered. A young male paced relentlessly in front of the doors, his face was filled with anxiety and worry. He looked to be thirty years of age, and he gave off a majestic aura. Although he had aged a little, one could still see the handsome youth that he once was. He was wearing a gold lined silver chang pao, which added to his handsome appearance, and he was surrounded by an aura similar to that of a host. His face was resolute, even his eyebrows were knitted together, almost forming a single lump.

Three meters outside of the room, a group of 30 people, ranging from young to old, were all lined up nervously. The elders of the group looked to be 60 to 70 years old already, with white hair all over their wrinkled faces. However, despite their age, their eyes could still make people shiver and quake in fear from the godly lights that flickered within. Judging by the glow from their eyes, the amount of fear they could inflict on others was so much that people wouldn't take them to be frail old men at all, but rather robust and healthy middle aged men with the strengths of a tiger and dragon combined. The rest of the men were all around 30 to 40 years old, with imposing auras and eyes that revealed nothing. It was obvious with only one glance that this was not a group of normal people.

And within the room in front of them, the sounds of a woman crying in pain could be heard.

"Madam, keep on pushing, the baby is almost out. I repeat, the baby is almost out…" An elderly but impatient voice could be heard through the pain-filled echoes. Those who could hear the voice could tell the owner of the voice was an elderly woman.

Outside the room, the middle aged man who was anxiously pacing about, abruptly froze in place and spoke with a sense of urgency, "Ai…this has been going on for an entire day and night already, how has Yun'er not given birth? If this drags on for any longer, I'm afraid even Yun'er will face an unfavorable situation." Even the man's voice was filled with never ending anxiety.

"My lord, please don't worry too much. Madam Yun'er will definitely be fine. You forget that Madam Yun'er is a bright Saint Master." A white haired elder spoke with a tone of confidence, but even his face could not hide the look of worry on it.

"Ai…" The lord clad in a white chang pao began to sigh again repeatedly; the worry and anxiety on his face did not decrease even the slightest amount.

Eventually, after the men outside had waited for two more hours, an excited voice came from within the room. "My lord, my lord! Madam Yun'er has given birth! She has given birth and is safe! And so is the boy!" The amount of emotion in the voice was stirring up excitement throughout the house.

Upon hearing that, the middle age man that was waiting anxiously became slack-jawed; the wariness in his face had been completely wiped out and replaced with an expression of joy and emotions. He was so emotionally moved that he couldn't find the right words to say, and blew open the doors so quickly that it was as if they didn't exist in the first place. His speed was almost inconceivable; no ordinary man could possess enough strength to pull off the same amount of speed he had just displayed.

The middle aged man immediately flashed over to the bedside and sat down beside it. His face was full of concern as he looked at the woman who was reclining on top of it. "Yun'er, how are you feeling; you have to be all right!" Despite his excitement, his voice was gentle and was brimming with concern.

On top of the bed was a woman who was in the peak of her 20's. Her appearance was so beautiful, it could cause an entire state to fight and collapse upon itself for her hand. Her exhausted and pale face was drenched in sweat, but still managed to retain a divine look.

The female looked up with a tired expression at the man by her side and smiled, "My dear husband, I am fine. Please just allow me to see my baby."

"Oh! Yes! Right away! As long as Yun'er is fine." The man started to smile with joy, but he turned around and looked at the bundled up child in the midwife's arms. Right as he was about to speak, the eyebrows on the midwife knitted together and stared with rapt attention at the infant she was holding. Her arms continued to rock the bundle as she muttered, "Cry baby, go on and cry. What child are you that you do not cry? How odd, I have delivered many babies, and although the numbers have not reached over a thousand babies, I have helped given birth to over 900. However, this is the first time I have seen a freshly delivered baby that does not cry."

But at the same time she spoke, the men who were outside all piled into the room, each one of them had a smile on their faces. One after another each person began to congratulate the woman on the bed.

The middle aged man was still smiling greatly and spoke to the woman, "Yun'er, you should rest up first. I'll bring the child over in a second." The man then got up and walked towards the midwife, "What's wrong? Could it be there's some sort of problem with the child?" His voice had dropped down slightly; sometimes, some children would be born with diseases. This occurrence wasn't uncommon, and would actually happen often. He was already afraid that his newly born child had some sort of problem.

Hearing his question, the midwife's face went sour as she looked at him, and said respectfully, "My lord, the young lord has no problems that I am aware of, but according to my 10 years of experience, every newborn child will start to cry. But this young lord is different; look here, ever since his birth, he hasn't uttered even a single peep of sound. This is an extremely strange situation."

The man's forehead creased in thought as he looked at the bundled infant. The infant's eyes were bright and showed no impurities within them as it looked all over the place. One moment he would look over here, and the next moment he would look over there. He was very cute in this way, and just by looking at him you would think there were no problems with him.

However, the man didn't notice that the infant's bright eyes didn't have a single impurity in the vast abyss of his pupils. In fact, it had seemed like his eyes held a profoundness that shook the man's inner self, though he himself didn't believe it.

Then as he put his hand on top of the infant, he saw a fine layer of yellow light suddenly float around his palm.

Seeing the middle aged man's movement, the midwife's face became uneasy. She was only a small midwife, one of society's lowest class, but even she was afraid if there was a problem with the child. If there was one, then the man would blame her, and she would not be able to recover from it. Despite the fact that this situation was not related to her in anyway, she wouldn't have the power to say otherwise.

The man quickly took his hand back, his own heart was finally at ease. A smile returned to his face once more as he laughed, "The child is safe and sound, I can't find even a single problem." He took the bundle from the midwife with another laugh.

Upon hearing this, the midwife let out a breath of air in relief. With her heart rate slowly going back to normal, even she started to laugh in excitement, "What the lord says is correct, perhaps this is a representation of the young lord's future. He will surely become a strong and unique individual as he grows."

As he listened to the midwife, knowing that this was an extraordinarily vague thing to say, he still couldn't help but laugh, "Yes yes yes, I can only hope so. Someone come here! Let us reward Mother Hong with a hundred gold coins!"

The midwife's face grew joyously and immediately said with emotion, "I give the lord many thanks, many many thanks indeed!"

The father brought the infant to his mother on the bed and smiled, "Yun'er, look! This is our child, look how cute he is!"

Yun'er held onto the child tenderly and gave him a kiss on the forehead and spoke happily, "Dear husband, since our child is a boy, then as per our agreement beforehand, we shall call him Changyang Xiang Tian."

Laughing, the husband said, "Not bad, I hereby officially declare that this child's name will be Changyang Xiang Tian! Come all! I invite all of my guests here today, tomorrow there will be a feast in my son's honor! We shall celebrate greatly…."

In a flash, a year had already passed. In front of a small lake, the figure of a child that wasn't even one meter tall stood about with a blank expression. Both of his eyes were staring attentively at the rock garden in the middle of the lake. The little boy was wearing a gorgeous set of clothes, but the expression on his face was unusually complex in a way that was strange to see on a one year old boy.

To be precise, this boy was Changyang Xiang Tian. And in this moment inside of his mind, a hair raising scene was constantly playing. Just as if watching a movie reel, all he could see were pictures of mountain ranges that looked like two giant swords. Another image of a handsome young man of 20 years old with a sword came to his mind, along with the hundred year old battle hardened figure of Dugu Qiubai. Finally at the time of his immediate death, he remembered the breakthrough he had experienced that had allowed him to reach into the realm of the "Sword God". After that, he remembered stabbing Dugu Qiubai through the neck, ending in their mutual destruction…

Xiang Tian looked at his tiny body and gasped; the look on his face could only be described as complex. Over the past year, he had lost count of how often moments of his past life had flashed before his eyes. The memories were so fresh in his mind, it was almost as if everything happened only yesterday; as if engraved into the very depths of his soul.. No matter what he did, he couldn't forget the memories, but he understood now; he was called Jian Chen in his past life. After his death, he had carried with him the mysteries of his memory and soul, and had been reincarnated.

He retained all of his memories even after his reincarnation, so even after being born, he already knew how to talk. And according to the conversations from the people at his bedside, he had a rough idea of what type of household he was in. More importantly, he had learned that he was no longer in the same world as before. This was a new world that Jian Chen had never heard of.

Even the mansion Jian Chen lived in had a name–Changyang Mansion. The mansion belonged to one of Luo'er City's top 4 families, each had a foothold of power and influence. His own father was actually the leader of the Changyang clan named Changyang Ba. His mother was named Bi Yuntian and was the fourth concubine for the clan leader. Although she wasn't the primary wife, she still had a considerable amount of power in the family because she held the title of a Radiant Saint Master.

Even though Jian Chen didn't understand what a Radiant Saint Master was, he did understand that it was because his mother was a Radiant Saint Master that her status was high in the clan, and there were many that respected her.

In regards to Jian Chen himself, he was the Changyang clan's fourth young lord, and had a majestic status within the clan. Jian Chen also had 2 elder brothers and an elder sister. The first brother was Changyang Hu, the sister was Changyang Mingyue, and the second brother was Changyang Ke. The four of them shared the same father, but each had a different mother. Excluding Changyang Hu, Changyang Mingyue and Changyang Ke had met with him multiple times and were both only a few years older than him. The eldest of the siblings was Changyang Ming Yue, who was 4 years old; 3 years older than Jian Chen. Changyang Ke was 2 years older than him. Aside from them 4 however, there were still many other children in the family.

At this time, an elderly housekeeper came up from behind Jian Chen and spoke softly, "4th young lord, it's getting late, and your mother is looking for you."

Jian Chen was immediately jolted back to reality. Looking at the sky, he had come to the sudden realization that the sky was dimming, an indication of the impending night. Unconsciously, Jian Chen had been standing there for the whole afternoon. "I understand, Chang Bai. I will go back in a second."

Chang Bai was the housekeeper for the Changyang clan and essentially took care of every single matter within the family. Because of this, his status within the clan was fairly high. Although he was only a housekeeper, he had garnered a good amount of respect, practically the same amount as the head of the house himself had.

A smile adorned Chang Bai's face as he watched Jian Chen with high expectations. Even when Jian Chen was only half a year old, he hadn't needed the help of others to walk, and quickly learned how to speak within 8 months. Not only could he speak clearly, but he could even communicate with others. With these two achievements alone, Jian Chen had already been called a genius, and many were eagerly awaiting to see how he would grow up.

At night, Jian Chen accompanied his mother, Bi Yuntian, to eat dinner in the dining hall. The dining hall they both sat in was special; only the head of the house, his concubines, and his children could eat there.

When Bi Yuntian and Jian Chen arrived at the dining hall, three beauties were already sitting at the circular dinner table. Each one of them looked to be in their 20s, and two of them each held a child in their arms. One of the children was a boy, and the other was a girl. The boy was around 3-4 years old, and was healthy but chubby. He was the third son and young lord of Changyang Ba–Changyang Ke.

The moment Changyang Ke saw Jian Chen, hostility and hatred swelled up in his eyes. It was clear to see that he was brimming with the intent to start something, and one could tell that he held a bias against Jian Chen.

The four ladies could all sense the hostility radiating from Changyang Ke towards Jian Chan, but none of them spared a second thought about it. In their minds, this was merely a small matter between children, and definitely not something that would be of great matter.

The other child was a 4-5 year old girl with two ponytails. Her bright eyes looked at the still hostile Changyang Ke and laughed. With her two dimples that appeared with each laugh, she looked exceptionally cute. Although she was underaged now, it was certain that after she grew older, she would have beauty that could rival the gods. This child was the second born of Changyang Ba, as well as the sole female child–Changyang Mingyue.

"Fourth brother, you're here! Come and sit!" Upon seeing Jian Chen, the smile on her face had become even more splendid, as she waved him over.

Jian Chen nodded towards Changyang Mingyue as a greeting, and sat down with his mother at the dinner table.

Bi Yuntian began to pamper Jian Chen, softly saying, "Xiang'er, say hello to your aunts and siblings."

Without any other choice, Jian Chen looked at the pampered ladies, "Hello eldest aunt, second aunt, third aunt, second sister, and third brother." Ever since his mother had discovered that he could speak efficiently, she had been ecstatically teaching him the basic rules of etiquette. With Jian Chen's "go with the flow" mindset, he didn't object to her teachings. It would prove beneficial to him in the long run as well in this new world.

When he had first arrived in this strange new place, he had struggled intensely with this new body. Since he was reincarnated with his old memories, he still felt like Jian Chen. Deep within his soul, he did not think this new life was his, but as time went on, he gradually accepted his new body and life. No matter what though, Bi Yuntian was still his mother. Although it was a mystery on how he managed to retain his memories, they had been from a place on another world. It had no relationship to this new world, so Jian Chen had decided to hide away the memories in the deepest part of his mind. It was time to accept his new life and give it everything he had.

The three ladies all smiled at Jian Chen. One of the ladies wearing golden robes laughed, "Sister Yun Er, it would appear that Xiang Tian is getting more and more intelligent. Ai… it's getting harder and harder to only see him as a one year old child. I truly am envious of you for having such an intelligent child." The lady who spoke was the second wife of Changyang Ba and mother to Changyang Mingyue–Bai Yushuang,

"That's right, younger sister Yun Er, what second sister said is correct. Each and every day, I grow even more fond of Xiang Tian." Sitting next to Jian Chen with a tranquil look was another one of the 4 ladies. She was the third wife–Yu Feng Yan.

"Xiang Tian is certainly a child genius. To be able to walk at 6 months and speak at 8, these are feats that no other child his age would be able to replicate. I find myself anxious to see how much Saint Energy he has when he undergoes the test in 2 years, though I do sincerely hope that he will give us all a pleasant surprise when the time comes." The next lady who spoke was significantly older, and seemed much more temperamental than the others. She was the first wife–Ling Long.

The moment Ling Long finished her sentence, a deep manly voice spoke out, "I agree. I look forward to when Xiang Tian reaches his 3rd year for this pleasant surprise as well." A 30 year old man entered the dining hall, carrying himself with the manner of a master. With a white chang pao decorated with golden outlines, and a head of black hair that reached his shoulders, the man gave off a relaxed atmosphere.

"Husband!"

"Father!"

Immediately after seeing the man, the 7 people at the table all stood up at once and called out one after the other. Jian Chen was no exception, and softly cried out.

This young man was indeed the head of the Changyang clan, Changyang Ba.

Changyang Ba strolled down to the dinner table and sat down with a gentle smile on his face. With a look at Jian Chen, he asked, "Xiang'er, are you feeling happy living here still?"

Jian Chen nodded his head, "Yes!"

A smile curled up on Changyang Ba's face, "Xiang'er, if you ever feel closed in this stuffy old house, feel free to explore the outside and experience it for yourself!"

"I know, father!" Jian Chen replied.

Changyang Ba was indescribably happy at how intelligent Jian Chen was and how much he differed from any other one year old, .

The family dinner went by joyously and the meal was consumed quickly. Afterwards, Jian Chen returned to his room alone. Based on his age, he should have been sleeping in the same room as his mother, but he had requested that he wanted his own room. Regarding this request, Jian Chen had been firm, and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. Bi Yuntian had ended up accepting his request.

And so that night, Jian Chen sat crossed-legged on his bed, with both of his hands on his knees. The palms of his hands were facing upwards, as was his face, as he silently went through the motions of practicing the first principle of Azulet Sword Law.

Azulet Sword Law; this was what Jian Chen had been studying for 20 years in his previous world and had become the strongest weapon in his arsenal. It was a type of cultivation that was both rare and formidable; it had principles that were profound and also contained many strong techniques.

The Azulet Sword Law was something that Jian Chen had stumbled upon when he was a child. He had accidentally fallen off of a cliff while playing in the mountains, and somehow managed to survive the fall by landing in a pool of water. When he had awoken, he had found himself trapped in a cavern with fish as his only source of food. After finding the manual, he had dedicated himself to learning it, and finally succeeded after 10 years. With his breakthrough, he was able to jump out of the cavern and return to the lands above.

Jian Chen was a war orphan who had been taken in by his great grandfather and grandmother. 10 years had past while he was trapped in the cave, so when he had returned to the village, his great grandparents had already passed away from old age a long time ago. After paying his respects to them, the now alone Jian Chen left his little mountainside village to travel the world by himself.

Jian Chen had accepted what life had given him in his past life, and he had accepted this new life as well. With this acceptance, he had started cultivating and refining his body for half a year, ready to regain his strength.

The Azulet Sword Law was divided into 12 different layers. The first layer was cultivating the body. A common saying was that if one wanted strong martial arts, then one must first have a strong body. After all, martial arts relied on the efficient use of the body; hence why the first layer of Azulet Sword Law was pertaining to the body.

Most martial artists relied on strengthening their bodies in order to improve their own strength. Therefore they would strengthen their bodies and end up with bulging muscles everywhere. It was clear to the naked eye how strong someone was by build alone. Some people had even built their bodies to the point of their bones being as hard as reinforced steel bars.

To Jian Chen, this type of method to train the body would only ruin the body and would only narrow the potential of the human body. So although this method would increase one's strength past a normal persons, at the same time, it would bring about a large amount of damage to the body. The people who trained this way generally had a short life span. When they were in the elderly phase, diseases and impairment within the body would happen at a higher frequency for them.

The wandering martial artists of the world have many different sects with their own way of cultivating the body but to Jian Chen, these methods were mediocre. These were not the right paths to takes; even the Shaolin way of Yijin Jing was no exception.

TL Note: wiki/Yijin_Jing

Even though the principles of Yijin Jing were beautiful in how it cultivated the inner strength and how it also strengthened the outer muscles, but Yijin Jing's way of strengthening the body was still the same. It didn't strengthen the very core of a human and only focused on external force only. This could not be be considered the pinnacle of cultivating the body if it did not target the entire body.

The methods written in Azulet Sword Law were truly profound and magical. By absorbing both the Qi of the heavens and the earth and then transforming it, one could incorporate it within the bones of the body. This allowed every organ and even every single cell in the body to be strengthened to their limits. The original frailty would be cast away and the body would reach the most optimal state while giving the body endless amounts of benefits like a longer lifespan. When one practiced the later methods, your corporeal body would reach new heights in strength; and as Azulet Sword Law indicated, if one could reach the highest levels of cultivating the body, then they could even live as long as the heavens and the earth.

However this method was associated with one's own strength. If one's Qi was stronger than the physical body, then Azulet Sword Law would use that Qi and incorporate that into the body to become stronger. In the case that one's physical body and one's Qi strength were both at an equilibrium, then one would have to make a breakthrough to reach the next level. Only with this cycle would one be able to continuously improve their entire body without limits.

Jian Chen was slowly absorbing the world's Qi in a neverending stream and was circulating it in a cycle throughout his body. Then under Jian Chen's control, the Qi would be incorporated into his cells and organs.

Ever since he had arrived at this strange new world, one of the few things that had excited Jian Chen was the World Essence. The World Essence was extremely dense, perhaps a hundred times more dense than the Qi back in his world. Compared to the previous world, Jian Chen had nowhere to go but the old mountain range where he had died. One world was paradise, the other world was hell, the difference was simply that clear to see, so Jian Chen was extremely happy about that.

However what Jian Chen couldn't understand was the difference between the World Essence of this world and the World Essence of his past world. While both were the same in feeling, Jian Chen was carefully discovering that the World Essence had an extra type of energy. This type of energy was a small part of the World Essence and was interconnected as if blended together so that they could not be separated.

When he had absorbed this new type of energy into his body, nothing negative happened. So because of that, Jian Chen had not tried to remove the clearly different energy from the World Essence. However, Jian Chen was now curious in the matter, thoughts and ideas were swirling around his head, but this new energy was not that simple to be figured out so easily.

After the never ending World Essence had been absorbed into his body, Jian Chen could clearly feel every single artery and cell in his body become stronger. The World Essence that was taken into his body was like a giant health tonic that made his body feel alive as it absorbed it. His body was like a giant thirsty tiger that wanted more and more. While at the same time, Jian Chen was feeling a pleasurable sensation from all over, and felt free from worry as the feeling carried him away.

In a flash, another year had gone by. Jian Chen had been in this strange world for 2 whole years now. During those 2 years, Jian Chen didn't take a single step outside of the Changyang mansion. Everyday during his free time, Jian Chen was alone in his room practicing the first principle of Azulet Sword Law–body cultivation.

Perhaps it was because this World Essence was a hundred times denser than the World Essence in his past world, but in one year Jian Chen had already reached major success in cultivating his body. At the current moment without a doubt, If an average person swung an average sword at him, then his body would not be scratched at all. He had trained his body so much that even a single cut would not be made.

Of course, this was only what Jian Chen had thought of himself, he wouldn't dare try it out on himself personally.

In this past year, Jian Chen's body was developing at such a fast rate, it was inconceivable. In a single year, he had already reached a height of 1.2 meter, an abnormal height for a 2 year old. This height had actually made him look to be closer to 5 or 6 years old instead.

Because of this, everyone in the Changyang mansion had been alarmed beyond belief, although many of them still had vast expectations for him. Expectations hoping that he would be a genius with unlimited potential, but everyone would have to wait for when he turned 3 in order to confirm anything.

Regarding this expectation put on him, Jian Chen couldn't help but feel helpless. He didn't understand that the reason why his body had grown so fast was due to practicing Azulet Sword Law because back in his previous world, he did not have Azulet Sword Law by his age.

Although he still accompanied his mother Bi Yuntian to the dining hall, but as usual he had still shut himself off in his room every night. Sitting on the bed with crossed legs and his hands on his knees, he would close his eyes and face the sky once more.

But this time, Jian Chen wasn't cultivating his body, but instead he was pondering. It had been 2 years since he arrived at this world, and in those 2 years, he had never seen the outside world from beyond Changyang mansion. He spent the majority of his days locked up to cultivate his body. Up until now, he still did not understand much about this world. Outside of Changyang mansion, he practically knew nothing about this world, even what the outside world looked like.

He understood in his heart that in everyone else's eyes, he was a 2 year old boy. A 2 year old boy would generally be happily cherished by his parents while growing up carefreely. Jian Chen however, would not be in that situation at all.

As he was thinking on his bed, Jian Chen finally decided that tomorrow morning, he would ask his parents. It was important for him to know and understand what the outside world was like in this world.

After thinking it out, Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes and got off the bed. Tonight, he would not be cultivating his body on top of his bed as usual, but instead he would stand in the central point of his room with his eyes closed.

In Jian Chen's mind, a pair of mysterious footsteps began to appear. Then a picture appeared inside of Jian Chen's mind. Just like a movie reel, the picture never seemed to stop, but all he could see was a figure wearing a white chang pao. It was a young man holding a sword that was quickly pacing through a mysterious land. He was walking so fast, that a regular person would have a hard time seeing him clearly. Because the young man was walking far too quickly despite the small amount of room he was in, a series of after images were trailing behind him.

This figure was the previous incarnation of Jian Chen, and the steps that were appearing were actually symbolizing Azulet Sword Law, truly a mysterious image.

As the morning daylight shone through a crack of a window into his room, Jian Chen suddenly opened his eyes as he stood in the middle of the room. In this hour, he had finally moved; his legs moved so fast that it was practically a blur. For his legs to maintain this type of speed for some time, even most martial artists wouldn't be able to keep up in this condition.

Jian Chen's legs were moving in a mysterious way as he walked about in a certain trajectory. As he moved around his room quickly, his legs had whipped up a small whirlwind due to the extremely fast paced movement he was making.

Although this event did not go on for long, Jian Chen stopped moving, as his face was turning paler by the second. Slowly gasping for breath, both of Jian Chen's legs couldn't help but shiver and quake as he paused.

Jian Chen slowly walked to his window and sat down next to it. Bending his lower back, both of his arms massaged his legs continuously. Pursuing the mysterious footsteps for that one moment had caused his legs to become incomparably weak. He couldn't even use the smallest amount of power in his legs anymore.

Jian Chen shook his head helplessly, no matter what type of martial art to cultivate himself, the first thing he had to do was attain a better build. Not only that but the more profound a martial art was, the higher its requirement. When it came to the exercise of following the footsteps, if he did not have a strong physical physique and a strong Qi, then he would not have been able to last very long. Of course, normal practitioners would not be able to hold up for as long as he had, and if they had tried, then they would have exerted their body beyond what it could take and damage it.

It was not easy to acquire a profound ability after all.

Sitting by his bed after massage his legs, he waited for his leg to be returned to their original state before sitting cross-legged on the bed again. Once more he began to absorb the spiritual Qi from the world and absorb it into his body.

The night went by quickly and in a flash the sky was filled with the colors of the day. And at that moment, a sound could be heard coming outside of Jian Chen's room.

"Fourth master, it's daytime, time to get up!". came the obviously feminine cry.

Hearing the sound, Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes and cried out in his childish voice, "I know, sister Hong Hua, I'm already awake!" With that said, he climbed down from his bed.

Yet at this time, the door was opened, and two girls around the age of 18 came walking in. Both of them were carrying a small serving tray with a basin on it. Rolled around the basin was a new clean and tidy towel meant for him to wash his face with. The other tray had also another basin for Jian Chen to wash his teeth in to prepare himself for the day.

"Sister Hong Hua, sister Dong Mei, thank you for your troubles." Looking at the the 18 year old girls, Jian Chen thanked the two quietly.

These two maids were the servants of the Changyang family and were specifically meant to cater to the everyday needs of Jian Chen. Since Jian Chen was always by himself in his room, his mother Bi Yuntian had hired two servant girls to wait upon him.

Hearing Jian Chen, the two girl laughed sweetly and then said, "Fourth master, by all means, don't be so polite. We are just doing what we are supposed to do."

"That's right, fourth master, please refrain from being so courteous in the future. If the elders hear about the treatment you're giving us, then we may be penalized harshly." The other servant girl had said.

Jian Chen smiled, "Don't worry, I wouldn't talk like this if others were around." Jian Chen was extraordinarily intelligent, and the Changyang mansion had strict rules regarding statuses. If the fourth master was to be heard saying such words, then it would be sure that the two girls would not be punished lightly.

After washing his face, Jian Chen departed from his room and walked toward his mother's room as usual. The distance between the two wasn't far; it was only 20 meters away from his own room.

Shortly after entering the room, Jian Chen saw his mother at the dressing table putting on makeup with the help of her own two servant girls standing next to her.

"Xiang'er, you're here earlier than usual today." With a glance at Jian Chen, a gentle smile full of love and adoration could be seen.

Seeing that expression of love on her face, Jian Chen's own heart became soft. In his previous world, Jian Chen had lost both parents when he was small and thus had never known about motherly love, or even experienced it. But when he had came to this world, he had clearly felt the power of this motherly love. And so because of that, he had started to treasure this feeling of love slowly over time.

Jian Chen walked up to the side of his mother and rubbed his stomach and said with an embarrassed laugh, "Your son is hungry!" After the rigorous exercise from last night, he had been feeling the slight pangs of hunger.

Bi Yuntian placed a gentle hand on top of Jian Chen's head and laughed, "Then in a moment mother will take you to the dining hall to eat."

"Yea!" Jian Chen nodded his head, a look of satisfaction on his face. In his heart, he secretly enjoyed the loving concern his mother had shown him.

Pausing for another second, Jian Chen opened his mouth again, "Mother!"

Bi Yuntian looked at Jian Chen warmly and said, "Xiang'er, if you have something you want to say, say it!"

Jian Chen hesitated for a second before recollecting his inner thoughts. Looking at his mother again, he said, "Mother, could you please tell your child what the outside world is like."

Hearing Jian Chen, Bi Yuntian was clearly shocked by his question. Opening her mouth, she asked, "Xiang'er, could it be you're interested in the outside world?"

"Your son is only curious!" He answered.

Bi Yuntian laughed, "Xiang'er, the outside world is extremely vast and also extremely complicated. The matters of the outside world could not be made clear through words alone. If you want to learn about it, then it would be best if you went to the library and read a few books on it." Even as she voiced her answer, Bi Yuntian's face had looked a little bit helpless. "But Xiang'er, you still don't know how to read, even if you go to the library, you wouldn't be able to read any of the words."

"Mother, then why don't we bring some people to teach me how to read?" Jian Chen's voice contained some dissatisfaction.

Giggling, Bi Yuntian said, "Xiang'er, you are only 2 years old. Your mother has never heard or seen a 2 year old child learn how to read before. Even in the entire Tian Yuan continent, this type of situation has never happened before. Generally speaking, the earliest any child has ever started to learn to read was when they were around 4 to 5 years old."

Jian Chen understood instantly, "Mother, your son wants to learn to read. Could you please find some people to try and teach me still?"

Bi Yuntian was speechless, but a happy smile crept up on her face nonetheless. "Xiang'er, learning to read is an exhausting task as well as being extremely boring. You must understand that there are many different words in the continent. This isn't something that can be learned quickly, are you sure you want to start learning now?"

Jian Chen nodded his head in confirmation, "I am!"

Hearing Jian Chen's answer, Bi Yuntian's smile became even more splendid. With a happy laugh, she said, "If this is what Xiang'er's request is, then mother will support you entirely." Turning her head, she called out, "Xiao Liu! In a moment, go to Lore City and hire the most prestigious teacher and bring him to the mansion so he can teach my Xiang'er how to read"!

"Yes, my lady!" The servant girl who was combing Bi Yuntian's hair agreed respectfully.

"Xiang'er, it's been a decent amount of time, let us go to the dining halls before the both of us starve."

The day went by quickly, and when the second day came, the teacher Bi Yuntian had hired arrived at the mansion and began to teach him to read."

And so from that moment on, Jian Chen would spend his daytime earnestly studying how to read. Since he retained some mental fortitude and knowledge from his memories of the past. Learning the written language of this new world was not all that difficult. Combined with the teacher who was putting his heart and soul in teaching him as well as his amazing memorization capabilities, learning to read was extremely fast and easy for him. In just a short span of three months, he had already mastered the most basic words of the continent.

Jian Chen's learning rate had made the teacher exclaim in astonishment. Immediately after Bi Yuntian had learned that he had learned most of the written language in three months, she couldn't believe it. In the end, she had put Jian Chen in a test before she could accept the fact. If one wanted to read and write most of the words used in the continent to the extent Jian Chen had, then one needed to spend at least 2 years. To have Jian Chen accomplish this in 3 months while it took most 2 years, not even any of the geniuses could claim to have accomplished this feat.

This achievement quickly reached the ears of Jian Chen's father. Changyang Ba had then personally paid a visit to Jian Chen about it.

"Xiang'er, you have endured much in such a short amount of time, it's time to relax for now. Let your father give you a reward; since you have painstakingly learned to read in these past few months, I don't know what reward Xiang'er would want though." Changyang Ba's face contained a smile as he looked down at Jian Chen as he spoke. Having such a genius for a son, he was extremely proud of himself and cared much more for Jian Chen than any other child automatically.

Hearing this, Jian Chen's eyes brightened and thought for only a few seconds before responding, "Father, would you allow your son to go to the library and read some of the books there so I can get some experience and learn even more."

Changyang Ba's eyes brightened as he looked at Jian Chen with gratification. With a loud laugh, he said, "This is no problem at all, Xiang'er. You have a heart that desires to improve itself, and your father is proud of this. I approve of your request, the library will be free to you whenever you desire."

"Thank you father!" Jian Chen's face exuded a happy expression. To be able to enter the library was an achievement that Jian Chen could truly be happy about. After all, he had understood that the library wasn't a place anyone could walk in freely. One had to be 6 years old or older and had to be directly descended from the Changyang clan in order to enter. Of course, if one received the permission from the clan leader then the requirements could be waived.

Soon after, Changyang Ba began to dote upon Jian Chen for a while before departing from his room. After he had left, Jian Chen wasn't able to sit in his room any longer. Immediately exiting his room, he headed toward the direction of the library. After studiously learning how to read for 3 months, it all led up to this moment of being able to enter the library and look up information pertaining to the outside world. Even if there wasn't much details on the outside world in the books, Jian Chen could always go ask his mother. But the books definitely had more details than his mother as well as being quite comprehensive. As a result, Jian Chen had placed more importance on the books.

The location of the library had already been answered for Jian Chen a long time ago; it was in the back of his family's courtyard in a large pagoda. When Jian Chen entered the courts in the back, he immediately felt the presence of many experts concealed in every directions and were staring at him with viper like eyes.

With his head high and proud, Jian Chen pretended that he didn't sense the experts and walked further into the tower. If he let other people know that he could sense people that were looking at him from concealed areas, then a series of troublesome questions would follow. He was a 2 year child after all without any knowledge about martial arts.

Changyang Mansion had many direct descendants, but not many people were heading toward the library. So the only people Jian Chen had seen were the guards that protected the area, and almost no other clan member.

Jian Chen quickly reached the doors to the tower before stopping to lift his head up to see the extremely large board hung above the doors of the tower. The words "Book Pavilion" were written in fancy writing, with 2 guards standing below it. When he looked at the two guards, he could tell these guards were definitely not lacking in strength.

Waiting for the gates to open, Jian Chen then walked in directly without being obstructed by the two guards. They were almost like woodcarvings that stood motionlessly on the side with their backs straight. Even when Jian Chen had appeared, the two did not even greet him.

As Jian Chen entered the inner tower, a long and narrow corridor greeted his eyes. It was daytime on the outside, and light shined down beautifully, leaving a sight like none other. On the walls of the corridor, a bright moon pearl was hung and gave off a light to illuminate the hallway.

The length of the corridor was quite long, before finally splitting into two paths. Jian Chen estimated that both paths followed the opposite sides of the tower before finally rejoining again after a distance.

"Fourth master, the clan leader has said you have the authority to access the left side of the tower." An elderly voice called out. Coming out from the shadows slowly was a tall figure.

Jian Chen turned around after hearing this; although the light in this part of the tower was dim, he could clearly make out the appearance of the figure in the midst of the shadows. It was an elderly figure with white hair and wrinkles all over. Wearing a silver chang pao that was devoid of any other colors, even still he was relatively normal looking, no one would suspect he wasn't anything more than an ordinary elderly man.

No matter how much Jian Chen looked at the old man, he couldn't see anything but mediocrity. Although he still didn't dare underestimate the old man. It was his inner instincts that told him that this old figure was an expert with extraordinary strength. The strongest man he had seen since he had entered this world was his father Changyang Ba, but it was impossible to measure his father to what Jian Chen was feeling from this old man.


	3. Saint's test & revealed strength

Although Jian Chen could see through his frail appearance and find the true strength of the old man, he remained motionless and did not reveal anything on his face. With a silent nod to show his thanks, he stepped by the old man and proceeded down the left corridor.

Arriving at the end of the corridor, Jian Chen's eyes began to shine brightly as he walked into a large room. The light in this room was exceptionally bright, so much so that it was comparable to the light outside. Many neat and tidy bookshelves that contained thousands of books lined the walls of the library.

Jian Chen slowly tilted his head to look at the ceiling. He knew that the reason why the light was so bright was due to the ceiling. He had no idea what material the ceiling was made from, but it was strangely emitting a strong glow. Although the light was somewhat intense, it was not to the point of irritating the eyes.

Although the ceiling had piqued his interest, he wasn't willing to squander time by trying to figure it out. Walking up to a bookshelf, he finally grabbed a book and started flipping through it.

The book had fairly clear descriptions written inside, despite it not being as thick as the others. It had taken Jian Chen 3 hours to completely read through the book. Because of this, he had finally gained some insights regarding this strange world.

This continent was called the Tian Yuan continent and was fairly big. There were numerous countries of various sizes and even more cities of all sizes. The biggest cities were known as the Capitals and each one stretched across countless miles, and each of these Capitals were ruled by a city ruler. Each ruler was also in charge of several million up to ten million guardian soldiers.

However, within the entire Tian Yuan continent, there were only 7 Capitals while 3 of the 7 were controlled by a single strong empire. Among the strongest empires were the Karl Empire and the Felicity Empire who both controlled two Capitals each. It was the Holy Empire that controlled the first 3 Capitals.

Under the Capitals were the King Cities, but the King Cities were smaller than the Capitals by a huge amount. Practically every kingdom had at the very least one King City and each King City had a million guardian soldiers. Under the King Cities were the First Class Cities which had 800,000 guardian soldiers. The Second Class Cities had 400,000 guardian soldiers each. Under the Second Class Cities were the varying villages which all had their own guardian soldiers but their numbers wouldn't reach over 50,000. Even their strength and numbers varied greatly.

The Tian Yuan continent had people that all practiced something called the "Saint Force". When their Saint Force reached the 10th level, then based on the expert's ideology, the saint force will condense into a Saint's Weapon. There were over 1000 shapes and each were completely dependent on the expert's ideology.

As a result of the Saint Weapon forming from the "Saint Force", once it formed, it formed a special link with the expert. Some people with an outstanding gift would receive a Saint Weapon with a special attribute. These attributes were classified as Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Light, and Dark. Among these elements, light and dark were rarely seen, but were still extremely powerful.

The light element was extremely strong in the healing aspect, and those who had light attributed Saint Weapons were given the title of Immortals in the Tian Yuan continent. They were given this title due to the fact that while on the battlefield, they could easily restore any damage taken. On the battlefield, if they were not killed in one strike, then they would be nearly impossible to defeat.

Those with the dark element had a corrosive nature. Not only was this a troublesome element, but those with dark attributes were also in demand. At night, they could come and go as they pleased, earning them the titles of Night Lords, for the night was under their command.

The rest of the 4 elements each had their own corresponding strengths. The amount of power they had depended on one's own strength and judgement. Of course in the Tian Yuan continent, those who had a Saint Weapon with an attribute was 1 in 10 compared to those who didn't have an attribute. On a battlefield, those with an attribute were often harder to fight against than those who didn't.

The Saint Weapons were the strongest of weapons. In a war, Saint Weapons could be freely summoned at will and provide assistance to their masters to help overcome their limits. At the same time, a Saint Weapon and its master's life were intertwined. Whatever injury the Saint Weapon sustained would then be equally reflected back to the master. Also, if the Saint Weapon ever broke, then the master would receive a fatal wound as well. If the situation was grave, then even a wound may cause death.

However, Saint Weapons were extremely hard to break. As long as the Saint Weapon was stronger than the opposing force, then it would not be harmed in any way.

After a Saint Weapon takes shape, then this new way of cultivation would absorb the Qi from the world to become stronger. This method would improve one's own strength as well.

Once the Saint Weapon was formed, then the expert would be called a "Saint". In the Tian Yuan continent, the Saints are classified into 9 different levels: Saint, Great Saint, Saint Master, Great Saint Master, Earth Saint Master, Heaven Saint Master, Saint Ruler, Saint King and Saint Emperor. Within each of the levels, they are further separated into 3 levels: Lower, Middle, and Upper.

Within the Tian Yuan continent, there lies a mountain range that was spread out across the continent called the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. The range was filled with countless magical beasts. The further you went in, the stronger the beasts would get.

These magical beasts were also separated into 9 levels. The class 1 beasts were equivalent to a Saint, while the class 2 beasts was equivalent to a Great Saint. Continuing on with this, a class 8 beast was on par with a Saint King and finally, a class 9 beast was equivalent to a Saint Emperor.

At the same time, the Tian Yuan continent had a very prominent profession called the Mercenary. According to this book, the Tian Yuan continent had many mercenaries. These mercenaries would accomplish a variety of tasks for money, although many mercenaries would enter the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts to hunt monsters and sell the monster cores for money.

Although the dangers were big, the rewards were just as generous due to monster cores being highly valued in the continent. The higher grade a monster core was, the higher priced it was. There were some high ranked monster cores that could not be bought with money alone.

Monster cores were one of the most desired items in the continent. Inside the center of a monster core was a large amount of pure energy and could be absorbed by humans for a faster training speed. Absorbing the energy from a monster core was ultimately faster than trying to absorb the World Essence into one's body. However, using the monster cores to increase the cultivation speed wasn't a method the general populace could do without having plenty of money.

Other than a few odd things, Jian Chen was finally beginning to understand many things about this world. This world was exceptionally cruel and wars happened everywhere. The people of this world were more dangerous in comparison to his old world. If one wasn't strong enough, then they would find it hard to survive. Most of the people on the continent were practitioners as well, although the average practitioner would be of average strength. The average person wouldn't be able to cultivate their Saint Force to the 10th level and be able to condense it into a Saint's Weapon. If these people don't have the proper training and support, then they would remain at the lowest levels similar to a peasant in the mountains.

After finishing the books, Jian Chen finally understood the new world to a better degree. Saint Weapons, elements and attributes, magical beasts, monster cores and mercenaries, everything was a new experience to Jian Chen that gave his heart a thrill. He was looking forward to the new world and desperately wished to leave the Changyang mansion immediately. To be able to experience the outside world would be a refreshing change of pace.

However, Jian Chen knew that he would not be able to fulfill his desires in the upcoming years. His parents would never allow a three year old child to leave their home for the outside world. Even if he could leave his home, he would have no way of defending himself.

After a long period of time, Jian Chen decided to put even more effort into his training. Aside from his daily meals, everyday was spent training alone within his room. He still hadn't completed the basics of the cultivation stage of Azulet Sword Law, so the World Essence he had been absorbing was distributed equally throughout his body, entering each cell and strengthening his body.

It was only when his body could no longer be strengthened by the World Essence would Jian Chen be able to break through to the second stage, where he would start the formal training of his True Qi. Currently, Jian Chen still had the physique far beyond that of a normal person, however some regions of his body where Qi previously gathered in his past world were still empty.

In his previous world, Jian Chen had managed to finish the cultivation stage within a single year. Since this World Essence was stronger by at least twofold, even though it was taking him more than 2 years to make a breakthrough, his body was getting stronger and stronger, giving his current body the potential to be even stronger than his previous body.

Although Jian Chen normally spent the entire day hiding in his room to cultivate, neither of his parents had outwardly expressed any sort of bafflement or concern. The reason for this was because in the Changyang mansion, the parents would generally teach the children a method of breathing and let them train for a year. By the third year, these children would take a test to see how strong their Saint Power was and evaluate their potential as well as their aptitude. When Jian Chen was 2 years old, Bi Yuntian had taught him the same breathing method as the other children had learned. However, Jian Chen had taken this breathing exercise and tossed it into the depths of his mind, for Jian Chen had felt that this sort of training was like giving an adult a child's toy to play with.

As a result, Jian Chen had locked himself in his room. People passing by had only thought that Jian Chen was practicing the breathing method, and paid no attention to him.

The following morning, Jian Chen had finally finished last night's cultivation exercise. Today was a special day for him, since it was his 3rd birthday. At the same time, today would be the day that he would undergo the very same test as any other 3 year old in the Tian Yuan continent–the Saint's Test.

Accompanying his mother Bi Yuntian to the dining halls, Jian Chen was then later taken to the Changyang clan's official main hall.

The Changyang mansion covered a large amount of area, and compared to the area Jian Chen was used to, he had only experienced a small portion of the land. Walking along the road, Jian Chen looked at the mansion without stopping. In his first 3 years, Jian Chen had spent the vast majority of his time within his own room and cultivated, very rarely did he stroll around the mansion.

Within the Changyang mansion, a large group of uniformed patrolmen were walking around the area. Many sharp eyes were staring all around from hidden areas, and despite it being the daytime, they still did not show the slightest sense of relaxation.

As Jian Chen walked past a series of training grounds, a young, but soft shout had gotten his attention from the inside. A mere glance inside would show a small group of 10 year olds being taught some martial art drills by a middle aged man.

Jian Chen understood in his heart that these children were disciples born directly into the family line. The Changyang clan had about 1000 clansmen. Although half of them were guardsmen and servants, the other half were members that were born from within the clan line.

Walking past the training grounds, Bi Yuntian led her son to the middle of an official looking hallway. This was where Jian Chen would undergo the Saint's Test.

Even though the outside hall was vast, the interior of the Changyang main hallways were even larger. Currently there were dozens of people strewn about, among them were a few middle-aged men who were dressed differently that stood out from the rest.

Bi Yuntian led Jian Chen to their seats in the front of the hallway. Those who had wanted to sit at the front had to have a high status in the clan, and since Jian Chen was the fourth son of the clan leader, he had the right to sit at the front. However, his own seat wasn't created yet, so he had to share a single chair with his mother.

The lovable Jian Chen sat down on his mother's lap gently and didn't say anything.

In a flash, a line of people came streaming into the hall one by one before stopping in front of their seats. Among the newcomers was Jian Chen's third aunt carrying her child along.

"Hey…fourth brother, today is the day you take the Saint Test. You have to work hard so you don't let second sister down." Changyang Mingyue's pretty face smiled at Jian Chen as she spoke in a soft but enthusiastic voice. Although she was soft spoken, everyone in the hall had clearly heard who and what she was talking about.

"Ming Yue!" Her mother looked at her sharply as she spoke with soft rebuke.

Changyang Mingyue laughed and stuck her tongue out at Jiang Chen. Without any further words, she peacefully sat down right next to her mother's side as her bright eyes blinked rapidly as she sized up the other people in the hall.

Soon enough, everybody in the hall were all seated while they all looked at Jian Chen from time to time with looks of expectations shown clearly on their faces. The reason why many people were gathered was due to Jian Chen's Saint Test.

If it was any other child of the clan, then there would not had been such a massive turnout for the Saint Test. But Jian Chen wasn't a regular child with no status; he was the child to the clan leader of the Changyang clan as well as having an innate talent blessed by the heavens. The whole clan had practically placed all of their expectations on this child, hence why when it was Jian Chen's turn to undergo the Saint Test, every clan member would be there.

After all, Jian Chen had many different achievements under his belt, and the Saint Test would be another important milestone for him.

When everyone had settled down, Jian Chen's father Changyang Ba stepped towards the middle of the hall and sat down on the throne that signified his status as the clan leader with a great blade right next to him.

Changyang Ba's eyes stopped on Jian Chen for only a second but Jian Chen could see the faintest of smiles on it. Immediately afterwards, a voice spoke out, signifying the start of Jian Chen's Saint Test.

"De Shu, I'm sorry to have you take control of the Saint Test ceremony." Changyang Ba said politely towards the elder.

The elder looked to be around 60 to 70 years old white haired man who wore gray clothing. Although his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bright and filled with excitement.

The old man laughed, "The clan leader is too modest." Walking towards the center now, he carried a smile on his face as he looked at Jian Chen before calling out in a friendly tone, "Fourth Master, if you please!"

Bi Yuntian looked at Jian Chen with a great look of affection and whispered, "Xiang'er, please go to where De Shu is standing so he can test for your Saint Force."

"Okay!" Jian Chen said lightly. The clever child got off of his seat and with his small paces, he slowly approached to where the Elder De stood.

Without further ado, De Shu lifted his right hand where a small silver ring began to glow with a dazzling white light. Waving it over, the smallest of trembles could be heard coming from the ground before slowly increasing in sound. Right where there was nothing in front of them, a white stone half a meter large suddenly appeared. It was clear to see that the white stone had been polished countless of times; the entire rectangular shaped rock, the width and thickness was both at a meter long.

Looking at the newly emerged white stone, Jian Chen's eyes blinked in surprise, he had felt quite curious about this stone but De Shu's right hand had also caught his interest. He stared intensely at the ring on his middle finger, it was the ring he had seen from the books.

The Space Ring was made from rare but special materials, and could store items within the space of the ring. The smallest object it could store was a meter cubed, while the biggest object it could store was a hundred meters cubed. One could store and take out any inanimate object as they pleased. This was an item that was so expensive in the Tian Yuan continent that the common person would not be able to afford it.

Seeing Jian Chen looking at the Space ring adorned on his middle finger, De Shu laughed. Whenever he had summoned the white stone for the Saint Test, everyone around would give him the same exact look. In fact, he had seen the look so many times, he had lost count.

"Fourth master, please place a hand on the Saint Stone." De Shu smiled.

The Saint Stone is a special rock that could measure the amount of Saint Force within a person's body. Within the large Tian Yuan continent, there are many different items that could measure one's personal strength. The Saint Stone used colors to represent a person's strength–Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Purple.

Having the stone flash red meant that the person was still below a Saint in strength while an orange color meant that the person was at the same level as a Saint. The yellow color represents a Great Saint and blue meant the person was an Earth Saint Master. Lastly, a purple color represented a Heaven Saint Master. Any rank higher than the Heaven Saint Master like a Saint Ruler, Saint King, and Saint Emperor could not be ranked by the Saint Stone.

Hearing De Shu, Jian Chen focused back on the task and extended his hand onto the white stone called the "Saint Rock".

At that moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the Saint Rock. They all stood up in anticipation, anxious to find out how strong the gifted Jian Chen would be.

When Jian Chen placed his hand on the Saint Rock, De Shu extended his own arm to activate the Saint Rock through seemingly magical means.

Immediately, Jian Chen could only feel an odd type of energy pulse from the stone and into his arm. While the energy felt odd to him, it entered his body quite gently where it slowly circulated around before pulsing back out from his body and into the stone.

De Shu stared at the Saint Rock for any change in color, but after a short period of time, there was no change at all. Not even a single shade of color other than its original one could be seen.

"How is this possible, the Saint Rock doesn't even have a sliver of color reflected!" De Shu couldn't help but cry out in alarm. The smile that had been on his face slowly disappeared from his face and turned to look at Jian Chen's own face with an odd expression. Neither of the two could believe what was going on.

Taking note of the look of shock on De Shu's face and the still white Saint Rock, everyone subconsciously came to a realization. Their faces couldn't help but slowly change as they looked at their neighbors, then back at the front. Blinking once, the look of abject bewilderment was noticeable on most people's face while some people even sighed with looks of pity.

Changyang Ba's face grew ugly while even Bi Yuntian's face drained of color. Neither of the two looked as if they were refusing to believe the news.

De Shu gave a gulp, this result was unbelievable to even him. Immediately starting up the Saint Rock again, he had hoped that it was a mistake the first time. But alas, the tree had bore no fruit, and the rock no color.

Again, this result was inconceivable to De Shu. The fourth master had been called a gifted genius since he was born, but it had seemed as if he was nothing more than a cripple who couldn't cultivate or use Saint Force at all.

De Shu couldn't help but give a disappointed sigh as he looked at the silent Jian Chen with a complicated look. He turned around to face Changyang Ba, "Clan leader, the results are in. The Fourth master is unable to cultivate the Saint Force in any way."

Upon hearing this declaration, Bi Yuntian's face grew even more pale to the point that it was almost devoid of color. Looking at Jian Chen dumbfounded, she muttered, "That's…that's…not possible…how can Xiang'er…be a cripple…?" Right as she finished, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and crumpled down to the ground from her chair. For her son that was widely regarded as a genius to suddenly be found as a cripple, she couldn't handle this shocking news at all. No mother in the continent would be able to, let alone a member of a very prestigious clan.

As everyone that had gathered around heard the results, they all gasped and looked at Jian Chen with pity and disappointment. Jian Chen's aunts Yu Feng Yan and Ling Long on the other hand, let loose a breath of air. Seeing the mother and son's unfortunate situation, the two aunts couldn't help but rejoice silently to themselves.

"Ah, fourth sister…fourth sister, what's wrong? Fourth sister, please wake up! Fourth Sister, please…please wake up!" Rushing to her side, Bai Yushuang anxiously tried to awaken the unconscious Bi Yuntian, but to no avail.

Hearing Bai Yushuang's frantic yells, Changyang Ba immediately bounded over to Bi Yuntian and began to cry out, "Shuang Er, bring Yun Er to her bed!"

Even Jian Chen had rushed to his mother's side without paying attention to anyone else. His right hand was already pressed against his mother's wrist to check for her pulse. It took a few precious seconds, but he had eventually confirmed that his mother was in no immediate danger.

Jian Chen looked at his disappointed father amongst the crowd, and even he had felt helpless secretly. With a small sigh, he followed Bai Yushuang who was carrying his mother out of the hall.

"Ai…" Watching Jian Chen leave, Changyang Ba's face clearly had a look of extreme disappointment. He had placed high hopes on Jian Chen before, but as the expectations were very high, so was the later disappointment. With this result in the end, his fourth son Xiang Tian was merely a cripple.

"Clan head, don't pay too much attention to this. Although the fourth master cannot cultivate Saint Force, it doesn't mean he isn't a genius in other aspects or fields." A young male clan member tried to console him.

Changyang Ba waved his hand and said sadly, "Let's not mention this topic anymore. Everyone is dismissed." Finishing his sentence, Changyang Ba stood up to leave the hall. Although he had acknowledged the fact that Jian Chen could be a genius in the other fields as said earlier, but Saint Force was the most important factor in this world, after all, strength is what mattered in the end.

The fact that the fourth son of the leader of the Changyang clan was a cripple spread throughout the Changyang mansion like wildfire. Some people regarded this new piece of information with joy while others were grievous. One thing was sure however; Xiang'er's status in the clan would rapidly drop after this affair.

In a wide spacious room, Jian Chen sat quietly by the bedside. His tranquil face was dipped downwards and what he was thinking about was unknown to everyone else. His mother Bi Yuntian still hadn't woke up, her eyes were still shut as she laid in bed. Aside from Jian Chen and some servant girls, only his third aunt Bai Yushuang and his second sister Changyang Mingyue were in the room.

Looking at the mute Jian Chen, Changyang Mingyue blinked a few times. She walked up to Jian Chen's shoulder and said, "Fourth brother, please don't feel too sad. If anyone in the future bullies you, tell your older sister and I'll beat them up." Changyang Mingyue thought that Jian Chen was feeling sad because he was a cripple and that he didn't have the ability to defend himself from anyone that would mock him.

Hearing what Ming Yue had said, Jian Chen couldn't help but lift his head to smile at Changyang Mingyue, "Don't worry second sister, I won't be an easy person to bully."

Only Jian Chen understood that it wasn't because he was unable to cultivate Saint Force, it was due to the fact that he had been incorporating the Saint Force into the cells of his body. Because of this, his body was essentially an empty shell, with no Saint Force remaining in his body. If he hadn't used this method, then today's Saint Test would have had a different result.

It was unfortunate that Jian Chen wouldn't be able to explain this situation to people. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to explain how he came about this method. Not to mention that if he were to talk about Azulet Sword Law, then Jian Chen feared that the the history of both the technique and himself would become a great problem.

Although Jian Chen had understood that because of this situation, his status within the clan had taken a major hit. He didn't care at all for that however and had secretly wanted a situation like this to happen. If things had progressed as well as they did just now, then in the future he would be able to leave the Changyang mansion with more ease. If he had still been stuck with the label of a genius, then departing from the mansion would not be as easy. At the very least, as long as he didn't have their approval, they would ignore his trips in and out of the mansion.

"Xiang'er…Xiang'er…" A voice came calling out from the bed, Jian Chen's mother had finally awakened.

Right after hearing his mother call his name, Jian Chen's mind was jolted back to consciousness. He immediately turned around to look at her, "Mother, your son is here, everything is fine now."

Bi Yuntian had a complicated look on her face as she gasped, "Your mother is fine, but Xiang'er…ai…." As she spoke, a myriad of expressions were shown on her face ranging from sorrow, sadness, and even pain.

"Fourth sister, please don't trouble yourself too much. Xiang Tian has been highly intelligent since birth, so although it is regretful that he cannot cultivate Saint Force, but in my opinion, Xiang Tian is not so simple. After all, no child in the clan is smarter than him." Bai Yu Shuan was trying to console the still grievous Bi Yuntian.

Bi Yuntian lifted her head slowly, "I had already understood this fact,." Looking a Jian Chen, she gently started to caress the back of Jian Chen's head. "Xiang'er, don't feel sad, what your second aunt said is correct. Although you cannot cultivate Saint Force, you are still a very intelligent child, we still don't know in what areas you would be best suited for."

Jian Chen hesitated when he heard his mother speak, even though his mother was awake, he was not feeling all that much better. In reality, he had really wanted to tell the truth to the people there, his mother most definitely. He wanted to say that he wasn't a cripple that couldn't cultivate Saint Force, but Jian Chen chose to endure this. "Mother, don't worry, your son won't disappoint you." Compared to his mother's love for him, Jian Chen had utterly cherished it.

He would later spend the whole day by the bedside of his mother before leaving at night. Periodically, Changyang Ba would drop in to see his wife but he would then leave just as quickly as he came. When it came to Jian Chen, Changyang Ba's attitude towards him had been completely different these days in comparison to before. With each passing time, Jian Chen could clearly see that Changyang Ba had been treating Jian Chen with a colder expression.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed after Jian Chen's Saint Test. During the days that he wasn't busy, Jian Chen would shut himself in his room to continue training. The amount of training he needed nowadays was considerably longer than in the past; so much longer, that sometimes, Jian Chen would not be seen walking out of his room for the entire day.

In those four years, Jian Chen's status in the clan had dropped immensely as expected. Changyang Ba had been treating him more coldly now, and no one had ever bothered to take the initiative to seek him out first. It was vastly different than from his mother who saw him everyday, her love had never wavered at all.

Early one day, Jian Chen slowly opened his eyes from his crossed-legged position once more to show that he had finished last nights training. Immediately extending both arms palmside up, a light round ball gradually came into view. He flipped the beautiful ball into the air from his hands and watched it fall towards the ground where it came to a stop as both his hands were focused on it.

Hearing only the slightest of sounds, Jian Chen clapped his tiny hands together as if they were 2 steel plates and started to do pushups on the normally soft ground, occasionally bringing his head so close to the ground he could kiss it and even left an imprint on the ground afterwards.

Looking at his own hard work with a joyous smile, Jian Chen laughed. Half a year after the Saint Test, Jian Chen had already finished the cultivation stage of the first principle of the Azulet Sword Law. This meant that he officially started to cultivate the Saint Force without having to assimilate it into his own body. His cultivation rate was extremely fast, so fast that in the span of a just few years, he had already reached an astounding result. As he was now, he could use the Saint Force that was stored inside of him to reinforce his hands so that they could break through stone without effort.

Early in the morning, Jian Chen walked out of his room to wander around the Changyang Mansion alone. However, a group of patrolmen were walking around at the time spotted him, with each member having a different expression on their faces. Some had a mocking look, while some looked at him with disdain, but very few looked at him with pity. The fact that Jian Chen was a cultivation cripple had long ceased to be a secret within the clan, and so even the guards that patrolled the mansion had started to look at him differently.

But Jian Chen turned a blind eye towards them. His stomach was growling from hunger, and so Jian Chen had decided with a small sigh that it was time to head towards the kitchens.

It had been a long time since he had accompanied his mother to the dining halls to eat together. Nowadays, he would go to the kitchens himself to eat breakfast, and would only eat lunch and dinner together with his mother and some of his aunts.

When Jian Chen reached the kitchens, over a hundred servants could be seen running about. The kitchen was a tremendous mess due to the stove where it stood like a smoking hot steamer basket.

"Oh! Isn't this the fourth master? The fourth master has come to the kitchens! Ai, this isn't the proper place for someone as pampered as fourth master to be. The kitchens are for lowly servants like us, so why have you come here?" The teasing voice of a 20 year old servant came calling out. Judging by his odd tone of voice, it was clear to tell that he was mocking Jian Chen.

Another voice continued straight after the first servant, "If my guess is correct, then fourth master came down to the kitchens to get some steamed buns. But that's weird, why isn't the fourth master eating at the dining halls with the rest of the clan? Has he wronged himself and so wanted to eat the steamed buns from the kitchens? These steamed buns are only fit for us lowly servants and guards to eat however." Another 30 year old servant continued to sneer at Jian Chen.

Upon hearing the two people talk, the other servants in the kitchen all started to look at the spectacle. Both of these servants had the support of some of the superiors; for example, the 20 year old servant was not only introduced by Changyang Ba's first wife Ling Long, but he was also the servant of Jian Chen's eldest aunt. Rumors had it that Ling Long had hired him because he was a family relative, but because his body had lacked the power, he could only work in the kitchens.

As for the 30 year old servant that spoke second, his brother is the group leader of the Changyang mansion guards.

Hearing the two servants mock him, Jian Chen could only narrow his eyes slightly as anger flashed through his eyes. Biting back any sort of rebuke, he moved towards the giant steamer basket and held his hand out to take off the lid of it before all of a sudden, two giants hands came out of nowhere and quickly moved the steamer basket away from him.

"I should really bring these steamed buns to the guards right away, our honored guards haven't yet eaten breakfast yet after all." Whisking away the basket, the servant muttered out loud as he exited from the kitchens, "What a crying shame, the fourth lady gave birth to a good for nothing cripple."

At that last remark, Jian Chen went rigid. At last, the anger within his heart had finally broke free! Without saying a word, his legs blurred as both of his legs stamped across the ground. Reaching the servant with the steamer basket within a few seconds, he raised one fist and brought it down onto the servant's back!

"Bang!"

Completely caught off guard, the servant carrying the steamer basket was sent staggering to the ground. The basket he had carried dropped to the floor and with a great big smash, the nice and plump steamed buns scattered across the floor in four directions one by one.

Everyone in the kitchen stared at this unforeseen event with a shocked look. Seeing where Jian Chen now stood, no one could believe what they saw. No one had saw clearly how fast or even when Jian Chen had moved. For the 7 year old fourth master to have brought down the 30 year old servant with a single punch to his knees, it was inconceivable. Although the steamer basket had been dropped and the food wasted, everyone was still amazed by this show in front of them.

"Hahaha, Brother Qiu Er Lao, you really amaze me. Even though you are an expert that has reached the 3rd layer of Saint Force, yet you were knocked down by the fist of a little child! Did you waste too much energy with a girl last night to become this weak?" Looking at the servant at the ground, the first servant who had made fun of Jian Chen was now roaring with laughter at the second servant.

The servant called Qiu Er crawled up from the ground, his eyes burning with fury towards Jian Chen as the words of his younger servant friend reached his ears. For a 7 year old child to push him down to the ground, especially a child that was a cripple in the ways of cultivation, this was the ultimate form of humiliation and shame for him. After all, although he had not yet condensed his Saint Force into a Saint Weapon, he was still a practitioner that had reached a level far above that of the cripple!

Shaking his head in rage, Qiu Er had forgotten in that moment that Jian Chen still held the status of being the fourth master. With a snarl, he jumped towards where Jian Chen stood and sent a punch towards his stomach.

Watching Qiu Er's fist get closer, Jian Chen had a look of disdain on his face. To him, this punch that he had thrown out was full of mistakes and openings, and so he dodged by moving to the side very slightly to avoid the fist. Throwing himself forward, Jian Chen's right leg arced in a beautiful way and kicked Qiu Er firmly on the nose.

"Ah!"

Qiu Er let loose a blood curling scream as his clasped his bloody nose with his hands. Even then, a small steady flow of blood leaked through his hands. Jian Chen's leg had not been merciful, Qiu Er's nose had been kicked in and broke. The acute pain in his face had already drained it of color.

Qiu Er looked at Jian Chen with obvious anger in his eyes, making it seem as if he was a wild beast that wanted to take Jian Chen down.

"You little bastard, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!" Qiu Er roared angrily. He dashed towards Jian Chen and sent a kick towards his head. The kick was fairly fast, and if it connected, it definitely would not result in a small wound for any normal person. But since Jian Chen was still in the body of a child, a direct hit from such a strong kick had a high chance of killing him.

Assessing the strength of Qiu Er's kick, the 20 year old servant's face suddenly lost its humorous expression and became pale. Shouting out in alarm, he cried, "Brother Qiu Er, stop!" Jian Chen was still the fourth master as well as the son of Changyang Ba despite being a cripple, he still had some degree of respect around the Changyang Mansion. It was barely okay to mock him, but to raise a hand against the fourth master was unforgivable. Even if they had the support of any of the elders they would still incur a terrible punishment upon them.

Seeing the intensity of Qiu Er's kick, Jian Chen's face changed as well. His eyes grew cold as he leaned to the side again. Calmly staying outside the reach of Qiu Er's kick, he didn't retreat. Instead Jian Chen rapidly approached Qiu Er's body, he placed his arm on Qiu Er's still outstretched thigh while the other hand went to the other thigh. With a low growl, Jian Chen released all of the Saint Force he had stored in his body into his waist and surprisingly lifted the over a hundred pound Qiu Er above his tiny body.

Raising Qiu Er's body, Jian Chen didn't bother giving him time to retaliate, both his legs began to move across the ground as Jian Chen threw the heavy body of Qiu Er forward.

Qiu Er's body flew over 5 meters before slamming into a table meant for cutting vegetables. Coincidentally, underneath his falling body was a stack of iron skewers, falling down onto that would make him resemble a bizarre human porcupine.

Qiu Er fell on top of the skewers, and at least an inch of skin had been pierced through by them. Immediately, Qiu Er screamed in pain as the skin of his body was distorted and the pain in his nose was still piercing through his mind.

Every servant in the kitchen suddenly came to a standstill from the unbelievable event they had just watched. A single 7 year old not only fought back against a heavyweight person like Qiu Er, but he even defeated that person, who had reached the 3rd layer of Saint Force. If news of this got out, no one in the Changyang clan would be able to believe it.

Jian Chen looked at Qiu Er's suffering with cold eyes while making a mocking face at him. He didn't say anything, and decided to leave the kitchen instead, without taking even a single steamed bun with him.

After exiting the kitchens, Jian Chen slowly exhaled. He didn't think that even the servants in the kitchens would begin to mock the fourth master.

Throwing away the depression from his heart, Jian Chen began to stroll around the Changyang Mansion once more. With the mansion being so vast, Jian Chen had never once seen the entirety of it. Even the scenery around the place was nice to look at, as gardens surrounded every inch of the outside yards. There were many lakes as well as flower gardens that had very rare specimens that could not be seen anywhere else and they carried a sweet fragrance.

As the fourth master of the Changyang clan, Jian Chen was free to wander wherever he wanted. As he wandered to and fro, he would come across important roadways and buildings that had many experts concealed everywhere. When he saw those experts however, he had decided to think no more about it; after all, he knew that the Changyang clan is one of the four great clans of Lore City. Lore City was was a First Class City, so the title of being a big clan was a prestigious one.

As he walked, he had unconsciously came to the middle of a calm flower garden. Jian Chen had not noticed that his third brother Changyang Ke had been carrying a wooden axe as he trained within the same flower garden. However, in the eyes of a battle hardened Jian Chen, it looked as if Changyang Ke was just recklessly swinging the axe around with no particular style in mind at all.

Although Jian Chen had studied the way of the sword in the past world, he had studied many different axe wielding experts and how they fought. So even Jian Chen was familiar with how one should use an axe, but the way Changyang Ke was handling it, Jian Chen was speechless. How could this be considered training?

Just as Jian Chen was about to turn around to leave, Changyang Ke noticed him out of the corner of his eye. Slowly ceasing his movements, Changyang Ke's face started to show signs of ill intent as he smiled.

"Fourth brother, come on over, your third brother has some candy for you to eat." Changyang Ke cried out to Jian Chen.

Hearing Changyang Ke's words, Jian Chen nearly tripped down onto the ground in disbelief. Secretly thinking to himself, he thought, "Even a 7 year old wouldn't fall for such a line." However, Jian had forgot to account for that aside from the experiences of his past world, he was still no better than a 7 year old child.

But he paid no mind to the words of Changyang Ke and continued to keep on walking without even turning his head back.

Seeing that Jian Chen was getting farther and farther away, Changyang Ke began to get angry. Throwing the wooden axe in his hands to the ground, he dashed towards Jian Chen and eventually caught up to him.

"Fourth brother, did you not hear me just now?" Changyang Ke blocked Jian Chen's path like a cork in a bottle, his face red with anger as he stared at Jian Chen.

"Is something wrong?" Jian Chen looked at Changyang Ke with a calm gaze while implying a hint of coldness in his question. Jian Chen did not harbor any good sentiments towards his third brother. In the past two years, Changyang Ke would always look for some way to bully Jian Chen, and ever since the news of Jian Chen being a cripple, his actions became much more severe. If it wasn't for the fact that Jian Chen rarely went outside, the amount of times Changyang Ke bullied Jian Chen would have been increased tenfold. However, every time he had tried to bully Jian Chen, it would always result in failure and sometimes Jian Chen would also find a way to bully him back. This had created a sense of resentment within Changyang Ke's heart which made him seek revenge even more.

"Fourth brother, come accompany your third brother in practicing some martial arts." While talking, Changyang Ke had already started dragging Jian Chen towards the place where he practiced and did not give Jian Chen a chance to respond. Changyang Ke was actually very excited at the moment, for although he was not a match for Jian Chen when comparing their intelligence, he did not think he would be weaker than Jian Chen in terms of strength. After all, his fourth brother was a cripple in terms of martial cultivation and could not even cultivate any Saint Force, in Changyang Ke's mind, this was the perfect opportunity to exact his revenge.

Not long after Jian Chen had been forcefully dragged by Changyang Ke to where he was practicing his martial arts, Changyang Ke picked up the wooden axe he had thrown to the side earlier and then said to Jian Chen, "Third Brother, are you ready? I am going to start attacking now."

Seeing Changyang Ke's gentle smile, Jian Chen let a hint of playfulness appear within his eyes. Holding both of his palms in a clueless manner, he asked, "Third Brother, you have a weapon in your hands, don't tell me you want me to fight against you barehanded?"

Hearing his brother talk, Changyang Ke looked distracted for a second. Looking at the wooden axe in his own hands, he hesitated only for a second before tossing it towards Jian Chen, as he said, "Then I shall give you the axe fourth brother, and I will be the one that will fight bare handed." Although the axe was wooden, it was still 10 pounds. Even for a 10 year old child, swinging this around would prove to be difficult. Changyang Ke had thought of this and threw it towards Jian Chen for this reason. He wanted to make Jian Chen humiliate himself while he would look like the gracious one.

Jian Chen took the wooden axe in front of him and started to inspect it. The axe was very crudely made, only the shape of the axe was there, while the blade of it was almost non existent. Even if he were to try to chop at a person, it would not cause significant harm. At the very most, the axe would only leave behind a sore bruise.

Seeing Jian Chen hold up the 10 pound axe with ease, Changyang Ke's eyes revealed a trace of shock. He had not been expecting this change of events.

Jian Chen looked at Changyang Ke and gave a faint laugh, "Third brother, perhaps you should use this axe instead." Right as he spoke, he tossed the axe back at Changyang Ke.

Catching the axe he had only just thrown at Jian Chen, Changyang Ke began to feel suspicious, "Fourth brother, could it be you still wanted to fight me bare handed?"

Jian Chen began to laugh as he shook his head. Grabbing a nearby tree, he snapped off a branch one meter long. Shaving away the little twigs and leaves, Jian Chen was left with only a single branch.

"This will be my weapon!" Raising the branch, Jian Chen laughed gently.

Changyang Ke looked at the tiny stick that could be quickly turned into chopsticks in Jian Chen's hand and laughed. He was no longer angry as the day that he would be able to beat Jian Chen with ease seemed to be getting closer and closer. The dream of being able to bully Jian Chen without taking any losses had finally come for Changyang Ke. This would make him extremely happy.

Changyang Ke clasped onto the axe firmly, "Then fourth brother, you'd best be careful. Your third brother will begin to attack!" Right after saying it, Changyang Ke immediately stormed towards Jian Chen with the axe held in both his hands before trying to bring it down onto Jian Chen.

This axe wasn't able to inflict a fatal wound, so Changyang Ke didn't bother to hold back and swung with all his might.

Jian Chen's legs crossed forward each other as he dodged the axe. Swinging his tree branch with frightening speed, the branch had suddenly became more frightening in power. Even Jian Chen's demeanor had changed abruptly, as he pressed forward, the normally safe branch became a deadly sword in his hands.

Jian Chen was swinging the sword with unbelievable speed, leaving Changyang Ke with almost no room to counter when at last, the tree branch had already placed itself on Changyang Ke's throat.

"Third brother, you've lost!" With a playful banter, he returned the axe that Changyang Ke had dropped shortly in the middle of the match.

Changyang Ke could only stare at the tree branch at his neck with disbelief flashing across his eyes. He had not seen the tree branch move at all, by the time his eyes had saw a sign of movement, the match had already finished.

Still in shock, Changyang Ke shook his head. Grabbing the tree branch at his throat, he snapped it in two and cried out in disbelief, "That didn't count. It definitely didn't count! Fourth brother, you weren't fighting fair at all."

Jian Chen laughed as he looked at the red faced Changyang Ke. "Third brother, you don't even know if I was fighting fair or not." He said in a strange voice.

"That…that is…" Changyang Ke scratched at his cheek and stammered as he tried to think of an excuse. In the end, he still couldn't accept the result and said, "Either way, that match just now didn't count. Let's fight one more time!"

Jian Chen gathered the pieces of the tree branch that Changyang Ke had snapped with a laugh, "Okay, let us fight one more time then." Without further ado, he walked 5 meters away from Changyang Ke.

Both of Changyang Ke's hands clenched his axe tightly, as he attentively looked at Jian Chen. Thanks to the lesson he had just learned, he wouldn't dare to underestimate Jian Chen a second time, so in this round, Changyang Ke moved around carefully.

Jian Chen began to laugh at Changyang Ke, causing him to scowl in confusion, "Third brother, can we start sparring now?"

Changyang Ke tightly gripped his axe; this time, he used his Saint Force to help him. Once again he charged at Jian Chen, but this time he was much faster.

Jian Chen casually waved around the less than half a meter long tree branch in his hands. He was feeling fantastic for some odd reason; it was almost as if the branch had some sort of secret connection with himself. At the same time, within Jian Chen's heart, he couldn't help but feel the same sensation he had in the previous world when he had been on the verge of death, where he could understand the amazing power of the Realm of the Sword God. During that moment, he had finally been able to control his sword with his "Spirit", and had sent it flying 100 meters straight through Dugu Qiubai's throat.

Thinking of that moment, Jian Chen sprung into action, as the tree branch in his hand was sent flying towards Changyang Ke.

"Whoosh!"

Bending to Jian Chen's will, the tree branch looked as if it was alive, and flew from his hands. Flying at incredible speeds towards Changyang Ke, the tree branch was enveloped by a faint white glow of light. A strong yet acute amount of Sword Qi was emitted from the tree branch, making it look like a bolt of lightning. With a brilliant flash of light, the branch had already reached Changyang Ke's stomach.

Immediately realizing the trajectory path, as well as the amount of Sword Qi on the tree branch, Jian Chen turned pale with fright. He frantically tried to stop the branch from reaching its destination. If the tree branch was not stopped, then it would have, without a doubt, pierced through Changyang Ke and kill him. Even if he wasn't immediately killed, Changyang Ke would still have suffered from a fatal wound, which would lead to a disaster for Jian Chen.

Right as the branch reached Changyang Ke's stomach, it began to slow, but not before piercing into his stomach just by a small amount. Looking closer, the tree branch had merely penetrated through the skin, but if Jian Chen had been a tiniest bit slower with his command for it to stop, then Changyang Ke would had been left with the branch straight through his body. Such a thought was too horrible for Jian Chen to imagine.

Wiping away the sweat on his forehead, Jian Chen noticed that there was still a thin line of his soul connected to the tree branch. Confirming once more with his soul that the branch had only pierced Changyang Ke's skin, Jian Chen let out a sigh of relief.

Feeling the slight pain from his stomach, the somewhat plump Changyang Ke couldn't help but start to pale. When he looked down and saw the bloodstains on his stomach, his face changed drastically. A wail was heard as he started to cry, with teardrops falling in a never ending stream down his cheeks as if his eyes were fountains.

"Bl..blood…I'm bleeding! Waaah, fourth brother, you…you hit me! Waaaah, Mo…Mother, I'm going to tell my mother about this. Mother….fourth brother hit me…!" Changyang Ke immediately transformed into a child who only knew how to cry. Throwing down his wooden axe, he fled from the garden, bawling nonstop. Changyang Ke was barely 10 years old after all, he had not yet matured enough to withstand an ordeal like this.

Looking at the slowly fading away Changyang Ke, Jian Chen couldn't help but shake his head. As he walked out from the gardens by himself, he felt a small bit of fear in his heart. What type of strict punishment would he receive for this?

….

"What? Chang Bai, are you playing a joke on me?" In a study room, the leader of the Changyang clan, Changyang Ba stood up from his chair in surprise. Focusing his attention on the elder in front of him, Changyang Ba couldn't help but be amazed by what he had just heard.

The elder that stood in front of Chanygang Ba was the housekeeper of the Changyang Clan, Chang Bai.

Chang Bai nodded his head solemnly, "My lord, even I didn't believe this matter at first, but dozens of the kitchen servants all saw it clearly. The fourth master really did beat one of the servants, as well as lift up a servant who weighed 100 pounds more than him, before tossing him five meters away. The most important part is that this very same servant is of the third Saint Force layer."

Hearing Chang Bai, Changyang Ba's eyes widened in awe from this piece of incredible news.

Chang Bai looked at the clan leader, and after some hesitation, continued to say, "My lord, I also received more information about this, but the fourth master was recently involved in a spar with the third master. Using a single tree branch, the fourth master was able to injure the third master!"

"What? Xiang'er and Ke Er fought, and Xiang'er was the victor?" With each passing second, Changyang Ba's eyes widened more and more.

"That is correct my lord. The fourth master had used only a tree branch while the third master was using a wooden axe." Chang Bai added.

"How is this possible!" Changyang Ba flew from his chair once more, "Xiang'er is unable to use the Saint Force, while Changyang Ke is 3 years older and is also at the third Saint Force layer. Combined with the fact that Ke Er practices martial arts everyday, how was he not able to beat Xiang'er?"

Taking out a tree branch from within his robes, Chang Bai held it out for Changyang Ba to take, "My lord, the fourth master had used this tree branch to beat the third master."

Changyang Ba took the tree branch that was no thicker than his fingers. Inspecting it over, he noticed the tip of it had been dyed with blood.

Changyang Ba focused onto the dried up blood on the broken tip of the branch while concealing all sorts of emotions from his face, "Chang Bai, is Ke Er fine?"

"The third master is uninjured besides some broken skin." Chang Bai replied.

Changyang Ba nodded his head slowly with a neutral face. Inspecting the tree branch even more closely, he started to grow more and more suspicious. Finally, he spoke, "Chang Bai, this tree branch is nothing special. In addition, the tip is not sharp at all. Based on Xian Er's strength, it is impossible for a tree branch to injure Ke Er at all."

Chang Bai nodded his head in agreement, his eye glistening with a single luster, "My lord, I just had an outrageous thought; what if the fourth master is not a cripple unable to cultivate Saint Force? Seeing the fourth master's display of might today, perhaps the fourth master had already cultivated Saint Force to the fourth level? There would be no other way for the fourth master to beat the third master otherwise."

Hearing Chang Bai, the clan leader's face grew bright with emotion. To treat his son who was regarded as a genius badly after being revealed as a cripple, this was Changyang Ba's biggest regret.

"Chang Bai, what you're saying is that Xiang'er is not only able to use Saint Force, but that he is actually a genius at it as well." Changyang Ba's voice began to tremble with emotion. For a 7 year old to reach the fourth layer of Saint Force, this could only be accomplished by geniuses of the Tian Yuan continent. On average, by the time someone reached the fourth layer of Saint Force, they would be ** years old.

TL Note: Raws say **

Chang Bai nodded his head, "I have watched fourth master grow up since he was a child. He is an outstanding genius in my eyes, and I believe in him. I can tell that the fourth master will be able to surpass even me in the future ."

Changyang Ba started to tremble and shake as he listened, his eyes expressing rapt excitement and minor disbelief.

Chang Bai continued to speak, "Back when the fourth master was revealed to be a cripple unable to cultivate Saint Force, I had found it quite strange. I had always found this situation to be fishy, but I couldn't figure out exactly what was off until today. With the fourth master's two displays of strength today, I'm finally able to confirm my suspicions; the fourth master was never a cripple, but indeed a genius of cultivation."

Changyang Ba deeply inhaled to calm down his increasing heart rate, but before he could say anything more, a clans member came running in and said to him respectfully, "My lord, the third master has been injured. The third lady wishes for the lord to come visit right away."

"I understand, you may leave." Changyang Ba waved his hand, dismissing the clan member indifferently.

"Yes my lord!" The clan member bowed respectfully before slowly exiting.

Changyang Ba looked back at the housekeeper, "Chang Bai, it would be best if we head on over while checking up on Xiang'er. He has been neglected for so long after all." After he had spoke, he immediately paused gravely. "Chang Bai, the two servants that dared to bully Xiang'er in the kitchen, I'll leave it to you to drive them away from my mansion. Hmph, those two lowly servants, to think that they could bully Changyang Ba's son without consequences."

Chang Bai laughed briefly, "My lord, those two servants have already long since been driven off. Although one of them was introduced by the first lady Ling Long, the other servant's older brother is the leader of one of the team captains of the patrol guards. But since they dared to bully the fourth master, they no longer have any reason to stay behind in this mansion. Otherwise, I would not dare to show face around the Changyang Mansion ever again."

…

In a largely decorated room, the recently injured Changyang Ke lay on the bed. With a pale face, he stared at the freshly bandaged wound on his stomach.

Sitting at the edge of the bed was Changyang Ke's mother Yu Feng Han, with a look of distress as she tended to her son. Not too far away, Jian Chen and his mother Bi Yuntian, as well as first aunt Ling Long, second aunt Bai Yushuang, and second sister Changyang Mingyue all stood around the bed.

Yu Feng Han looked back at Bi Yuntian with an angry look, "Fourth sister, your treasured son is getting more and more outrageous. To have assaulted my Ke Er with such a dangerous weapon; it's a good thing my Ke Er is very strong and didn't suffer a deadly wound. Otherwise, who knows how this might have gone?"

Jian Chen scowled as he listened to her, not accepting her words even a tiny bit, "This can't be blamed on me, it was third brother who had asked me to spar with him. A small injury like this is unavoidable. Besides, I was not using a dangerous weapon, but a tree branch. If anyone is to blame, then it is third brother's lack of skill."

Yu Feng Han's face went ashen at Jian Chen's remarks; what he had said made perfect sense and she could not refute them in any way.

Just thinking about how she had been outspoken against by a mere child, an unholy rage rose up within her. Along with the words, "If anyone is to blame, then it is third brother's lack of skill.", Yu Feng Han's face went from green to white in rapid succession. These words meant that her son was no stronger than a cripple who could not even cultivate Saint Force at all.

Hearing that Yu Feng Han be beaten by a child, Bai Yushuang could not help but laugh merrily, while Ling Long sat there with an expressionless face.


	4. Kargath acadamy & competition

Bi Yuntian held Jian Chen's head in a loving way as she slowly walked forward, "Third sister, this was only some playful sparring between kids; not something we should worry about. It's pointless to get angry; in the end, the two of them are just children after all. Right now, we should instead concentrate on healing Ke Er's wounds."

At the words of Bi Yuntian, despite still being quite mad, all Yu Feng Han could do was fume silently. She was afraid that if she continued to nag everyone about the acts of such small children, her three sisters would begin to see her in a darker light.

Bi Yuntian walked up to where Changyang Ke reclined, closed her eyes and brought her two hands over the boys wounds. Her hands hovered there for a moment before letting off a faint white glow.

At that moment, Jian Chen's eyes sparkled with interest. He could clearly sense that a special power was gradually gathering in his mother's hands, forming that faint white glow. Moreover, this type of special power was the exact same power that he was able to contain inside the ball he had made earlier.

Jian Chen began to pay close attention to his mother's movements, and in doing so he suddenly realized that he was actually unsure if he was able to understand the very same method his mother was using to manipulate the energy. After all, he had discovered ages ago that this ability to integrate the strength of the world was complicated.

The white glow in Bi Yuntian's hands grew stronger and stronger, yet the light never hurt one's eyes. After a few deep breaths, she flicked her arms and the milky white light left her hands and floated down to Changyang Ke's stomach, slowly merging with the wound there. The white bandages that were already there obstructed Jian Chen's view of what exactly the white ball of energy was doing, and what changes were occurring.

After completing her task, Bi Yuntian let out a deep breath, "Third sister, Changyang Ke is fine, his injuries should be nonexistent now."

A happy smile finally appeared on Yu Feng Han's face. She thanked Bi Yuntian briefly before quickly stepping over to Changyang Ke's bedside. She gave a concerned look towards her son and asked, "Ke Er, how are you feeling? Does your wound still hurt?"

Changyang Ke raised his hand to rub at his stomach area, and laughed before starting to tear at his bandages, "Mother, your son is all right now. It's very comfortable.".

After the bandages fell off, it was clear that the wound on Changyang Ke's stomach was nowhere to be seen. Only a small bloody scar remained, but other than that, the wound had ceased to exist.

Upon seeing this, Jian Chen suddenly understood. This type of mysterious energy was the unique energy that belonged to Radiant Saints. Their energy had a special healing effect that could heal any injury, no matter how grave. Under the care of a Radiant Saint, any wound would be healed rapidly. Since his own mother was a Radiant Saint, she was able to use this healing power. Legends said that some very strong Radiant Saints were able to regrow someone's arm, as well as having the power to resurrect the dead!

Inside Jian Chen's head, he had a secret thought: If he was able to understand and absorb the energy of the Radiant Saint, then he may be able to be like his mother, and have the same amount of control a Radiant Saint had to heal wounds.

As he had this thought, Jian Chen couldn't help but feel impatient, and wanted to test it out. However, in the end he still endured the temptation, since his current situation was not appropriate for experimenting.

At that moment, the doors to the room opened wide. Jian Chen glanced at the people who walked in together; it was his father, Changyang Ba, and the Changyang clan's housekeeper, Chang Bai.

"How is Ke Er, his injuries are not that severe are they?" Changyang Ba asked with a voice of concern.

"I thank my lord for his concern, but fourth sister has already healed him, so Ke Er is fine now." Yu Feng Han's face showed a hint of a smile. Changyang Ba was showing some concern for his son, so she felt happy.

"Then everything is fine now! Changyang Ba nodded his head and looked at Jian Chen, "Xiang'er, how have these past few days been treating you?" Even when talking to Jian Chen, some concern was being shown as well.

"I thank father for his concerns, your son has been doing very well." Jian Chen's voice was very even. Ever since the end of the Saint Test, this was the first time Changyang Ba and Jian Chen had talked to each other.

Hearing Jian Chen's voice sound so clipped with a sense of detachment, Changyang Ba couldn't help but sigh to himself secretly. "Xiang'er, come accompany your father to the study room." Changyang Ba then turned around to exit from the room.

In a flash, Jian Chen followed Changyang Ba and Chang Bai into the study room. Sitting down on a chair, Changyang Ba stared at Jian Chen for a moment, before asking him, "Xiang'er, I have heard that earlier this morning, you injured Qiu Er of the kitchen servants this morning."

"That is true!" Jian Chen had already realized that his true strength had already been revealed, so there was no point in trying to hide it.

Changyang Ba's eyes had a cheerful expression as he laughed and said gently, "Xiang'er, why don't you tell your father, can you already cultivate Saint Force?"

Jian Chen nodded his head faintly and answered as neutrally as before, "Yes!" He knew that there was no way he could conceal this fact, so he admitted it with straightforward answer.

Although he already could guess that Jian Chen could cultivate Saint Force, hearing the confirmation from Jian Chen's own mouth made Changyang Ba feel even more emotional.

"Chang Bai, may I trouble you to test Xiang'er's Saint Force again?" Changyang Ba was happy now, but he still spoke to Chang Bai politely, not at all having an attitude of the clan master asking for a housekeeper to do something.

But Chang Bai only laughed, and brought the hand with his Space Ring up, causing the Saint Stone to once more appear right in front of Jian Chen's eyes. "Fourth master, please put your hand on top of the stone!" He said in a warm tone.

The moment Jian Chen put his hand on the Saint Stone, Chang Bai also activated it. In that instant, Jian Chen once again felt that mysterious power being emitted from the Saint Stone, entering his body through his arms. Within him, the power roamed around in a circle, before finally returning back to the Saint Stone. At the same time, the only thing that could be seen was the entire Saint Stone suddenly emitting a faint red glow.

Seeing the Saint Stone glow red, Changyang Ba's face showed an excited expression. Even Chang Bai now had a faint smile, and he looked at Jian Chen with a gratified look in his eyes.

"Clan leader, based on the strength of the glow, fourth master has already reached the fourth Saint Force layer." Chang Bai said with a faint smile.

"The fourth layer…the fourth layer…" Changyang Ba gradually stood up from his chair, and in excitement, he wrung his hands together. Before this, he had already guessed such a result, but it had only been a guess. Now that he knew the actual situation, he felt a new feeling in his heart.

Jian Chen had already reached the fourth Saint Force layer at the age of seven. Perhaps this level was not very outstanding compared to the entire Tian Yuan Continent, but within Gesun Kingdom, this was enough to qualify as a first class genius. Moreover, his third brother, Changyang Ke, was three years older than Jian Chen, and yet his inner Saint Force power had just reached the fourth layer.

Chang Bai once again placed the Saint Stone within his Space Ring. With a gratified look, he smiled, "Fourth master, you really have not disappointed me."

Changyang Ba quickly calmed down, and glanced at Jian Chen in a completely transformed light. His eyes were now filled with surprise, excitement, and gratitude.

By the time Jian Chen left the study room, it was already almost noon. Right after Jian Chen left, Changyang Ba looked at Chang Bai, and with a slightly doubtful tone he said, "Chang Bai, since Xiang'er has Saint Force, then how come last time he was tested, it wasn't detected? It had even scared me into thinking that Xian Er was a cripple that could was not able to cultivate Saint Force."

Chang Bai furrowed his brows, and after pondering for a bit, slowly said, "I'm not completely sure either. Perhaps the last Saint Test malfunctioned somehow. However, this is no longer of any importance!"

Changyang Ba nodded, "Currently, Xiang'er is only around seven years old, and he has already reached the fourth Saint Force level. If this continues, I predict that the latest that Xiang'er will break through the tenth Saint Force level is by the age of eighteen and condense his Saint Force into a Saint Weapon. Moreover, Xiang'er has always been an outstanding genius since he was young, so I want to quickly send him to Kargath Academy to study. What does Chang Bai think?"

Hearing these words, Chang Bai pondered for a bit, then replied, "Kargath Academy is the most famous academy in our Gesun Kingdom. However, the threshold to enter the academy is high. The person's strength must have reached the eighth Saint Force level, and his or her age cannot be over eighteen. If clan leader wants to quickly send fourth master to Kargath Academy, I'm afraid that is impossible in such a short period of time. Although the fourth master has already reached the fourth Saint Force level, the distance to the eighth Saint Force level will most likely take quite a long time. After all, the higher the Saint Force level, the harder it is to raise."

"I hope that Xiang'er can quickly train to the eighth Saint Force level within the next few years." Changyang Ba said softly.

Chang Bai smiled, "Don't worry, clan leader. I believe that fourth master will reach the eighth Saint Force layer sooner or later. The only issue is time, since just now, when I assessed fourth master, I discovered that fourth master's Saint Force wasn't far from reaching the fifth layer."

Hearing these words, Changyang Ba was unable to contain his joy, as he mumbled, "I hope that Xiang'er will really surpass Chang Bai in the future, and become the clan's pillar of support."

Chang Bai stood on the side, smiling wordlessly. However, his eyes did not at all hide his expression of anticipation.

After leaving the study room, Jian Chen immediately ran quickly back to his own room. He tightly closed his door, and he recalled the entire frightening scene of his fight with Changyang Ke.

Although Jian Chen knew that during his fight with Dugu Qiubai in his previous world, he had made a breakthrough and entered the Realm of the Sword God, but he didn't dare think that after his reincarnation he would still be able to accomplish it. Just thinking about that remarkable ability sent Jian Chen into a spiral of joy and excitement.

But when Jian Chen thought back to when the tree branch had mysteriously emitted Sword Qi, he started to feel some doubt. He no longer had the same strength he had from the previous world, so how was it possible for him to control an ordinary tree branch with the same Sword Qi?

As he contemplated this, Jian Chen decided to give it a try once more. Scanning the room, his eyes noticed a nearby wooden clothes rack. Snapping off a 2 foot wooden strip, Jian Chen would use it as a makeshift sword.

Holding the two foot wooden strip, Jian Chen slowly entered a state of tranquility. Deep in his mind, Jian Chen slowly began to convince himself that the wooden strip in his hand was not a wooden strip, but a sword instead. A sword for a god, a sword for a god that could overcome anything. Slowly as he harmonized with it, he could feel the grains in his hands, and see them very clearly within his own head so well, he could even understand their internal compositions.

Sucking a deep breath, he tried to quell the feelings of emotions within his heart. Taking hold of his emotions, the item in his hand flew into the air.

Right as Jian Chen's mind had reached this state, he had already established a connection between the wooden strip and his spirit. As the wooden strip separated from his hand, it floated by itself in midair while still being under Jian Chen's control. It slowly inched forward before emitting a white ray of light, revealing the sharp Sword Qi he was familiar with.

At this moment, Jian Chen had realized his soul had completely harmonized with the wooden strip, to the point that it had felt like his own arm that could easily be controlled with his will. At the same time, he had realized that the Sword Qi in the wooden strip had something to do with his soul.

With that realization, Jian Chen could only see a bright ray of light coming from the hovering wooden strip and flew around his body with a speed so fast, even Jian Chen couldn't see it clearly.

Jian Chen's heart pulsed quickly as his face revealed a look of extreme joy. He had not thought that the final moment of his life in the previous world would he be able to understand the Sword's Soul.

From that day on, the remarkable ability of the Sword's Soul was not only Jian Chen's strongest attack, but also a skill that could save his life.

Unknowingly, a few years passed. The current Jian Chen was already fifteen years old. During these past few years, Jian Chen had rarely gone outside, and spent every day in his room training the Azulet Sword Law. His strength had already been revealed, and he had even been recognized as a cultivating genius. Thus, his position in the Changyang household had changed; there was no longer a single person in the household that dared to look down on him. Moreover, Changyang Ba had been extremely caring to Jian Chen in pretty much every possible way. Among this, the happiest one was Bi Yuntian. Originally, her son that was deemed as a cripple unable to cultivate, but now he had transformed into a cultivating genius, especially since he had reached the fourth Saint Force layer at the age of seven. Anyone could imagine how happy Bi Yuntian was about her son being extraordinary.

However, Jian Chen discovered that since he had revealed his true strength, his eldest aunt Ling Long and third aunt Yu Feng Han seemed to always look at him with an unfriendly expression. This situation was one that the Jian Chen with memories of his previous life was well aware of.

Within the past few years, Jian Chen had already reached the eighth Saint Force layer. Moreover, this was only because Jian Chen had purposely slowed down his pace. That was because during the past few years, Jian Chen had used almost half the time to familiarize himself with the sword laws from his previous world. Otherwise, he most likely would have broken through the eighth level ages ago. Because of this, Jian Chen was currently not far from reaching the ninth layer already.

Right now, within the Changyang household, Jian Chen's strength had already well surpassed his second sister Changyang Mingyue, and his third brother Changyang Ke. Although Changyang Mingyue was over three years older than Jian Chen, her Saint Force had stopped at the seventh layer. As for Changyang Ke, he had never really had any talent for cultivating, and his current seventeen year old self had only achieved the fifth Saint Force layer after much difficulty.

In the early morning, a large group of people gathered outside the great hall. Amongst this group were Jian Chen's parents, his three aunts, and even his third brother, Changyang Ke, and his second sister, Changyang Mingyue. Aside from them, a few of Changyang household's chief figures were also present. There was also a bird-type magical beast about 3 meters large that calmly sat on the ground, not too far from the crowd of people.

Today was the day that Jian Chen would leave for Kargath Academy to study. The minimum standard to enter Kargath Academy was having achieved the eighth level. In addition, the person's age could not be over eighteen. Currently, Jian Chen met both of these standards. Moreover, today happened to also be the enrolling general assembly for Kargath Academy that only occurred once a year.

Bi Yuntian's face was covered in tears as she looked at Jian Chen. With a loving gaze, she said, "Xiang'er, you have to study diligently at the academy. Try to stay out of trouble, understand?" Bi Yuntian spoke with a tone filled with deep concern.

Jian Chen obediently nodded, and said, "Don't worry, Mother, I know what I should do."

Changyang Ba walked up to Jian Chen, and said, "Xiang'er, this Space Belt is something Father prepared especially for you. Although it isn't anything priceless, and the amount of space inside isn't very large, it can still store some small things. If you break through the tenth level by the time you turn eighteen and condense your Saint Force into a Saint Weapon, then Father will reward you with a Space Ring and a Monster Core." While speaking, a very exquisite belt had already appeared in his hands. Seeing the size of the belt, it was obvious that it had been specifically tailored for Jian Chen.

Seeing Changyang Ba be so concerned about Jian Chen, Linglong and Fenyan, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but show a trace of deep jealousy and dissatisfaction. However, currently, everyone's gazes were gathered on Jian Chen, and nobody had noticed them.

Jian Chen accepted the belt, and said with a strong self-confidence, "Father, I will definitely become a Saint soon."

Changyang Ba expressed a trace of a smile, and he looked at Jian Chen with a gaze full of gratification.

"Fourth master, it's getting late. We should go on our way." At that moment, the housekeeper Chang Bai that was standing on the side, spoke up.

Jian Chen gave one final glance at his mother, and then walked over to Chang Bai without once turning his back, and said, "Chang Bai, let's leave."

Chang Bai reached out and lifted Jian Chen onto the back of the flying magical beast. Afterwards, he jumped on as well, sitting next to Jian Chen. Faintly smiling at Jian Chen, he said, "Fourth master, sit tight please."

Afterwards, he only saw Chang Bai pat the magical beast's back. In an instant, the flying magical beast seemed to have received a command, and stretched out its 10 meter long wings to fly up. It directly rose up into the air, and began to quickly fly off into the distance.

Sitting on top of the flying magical beast, Jian Chen's face did not reveal any sort of emotion, even though they were flying at an extreme speed 1000 feet high up into the air. Since the beast was flying at such high speeds, he could hear a ceaseless rumbling sound from the wind in his ears.

Looking at Jian Chen's passive face, Chang Bai couldn't help but nod in approval. Most children generally paled in extreme fear after flying on top of a magical beast for the first time. Some children trembled in fear the whole time, while a smaller amount even wet themselves, but very few people had achieved the same tranquility as Jian Chen.

Chang Bai thought back to when he had sent Changyang Hu to Kargath Academy a few years back. After sitting on the flying beast, Changyang Hu's entire body had shivered from fright as he grabbed hold of the feathers on the beast's neck.

"The fourth master does not seem to be like the others; it truly makes one wonder what sort of accomplishments he will succeed in the future." Chang Bai thought to himself.

Jian Chen stared at the flying magical beast below him and asked, "Chang Bai, what kind of beast is this, to be flying at such a fast speed?"

"This is only natural!" Chang Bai spoke in a majestic voice, "Fourth master, you shouldn't underestimate this magical beast. This magical beast is called the Eagle Beast; it is a Class 4 magical beast which is the equivalent of a Great Saint Master. It can fly through the sky at extremely fast speeds, and even though it is barely Class 4, even someone of the same rank of Earth Saint Master would not be able to fight it when it is in the sky."

"Then that would mean this Eagle Beast is very expensive." Jian Chen said.

Chang Bai nodded, "That is natural as well. Flying magical beasts are very expensive; not only because they are hard to capture, but hard to tame as well. Even though flying magical beasts are the fastest way of transportation, riding on one is very dangerous. In the case that a magical beast goes out of control, then the rider will be sent falling from thousands of meters in the air. Even with the power of an Earth Saint Master, surviving a fall like that would be unlikely and even if you're lucky, you will still end up with a fatal injury. Even if it's a Class 1 or 2 flying magical beast, its price is still very expensive, especially if it has a berserk nature or won't submit to a human. Therefore, taming a flying magical beast is a very challenging task to accomplish."

Jian Chen nodded his head before slowly becoming silent once more.

Chang Bai looked at the silent Jian Chen and said, "Fourth master, your older brother Changyang Hu is also at Kargath Academy. It has been a few years already, so becoming a Saint isn't too far away for him. If you ever come across a problem at the academy, don't be afraid to ask your older brother to help solve it."

"Yes, I know." Jian Chen replied. But his mind felt complicated when he thought of his mysterious older brother. Jian Chen had never seen him before, and he didn't even know what his brother's personality was like. He was also very worried about if his older brother would be jealous about his innate skill at cultivating Saint Force, like third brother Changyang Ke was. Being jealous over something like this was not at all uncommon within a big clan. In the previous world, Jian Chen had met all sorts of family strife due to a power struggle between siblings during his time as a traveler.

In Jian Chen's heart, he desperately hoped that such a situation would not happen to him. In his previous world, he was an orphan who had never experienced any sort of familial love. Since the heavens had blessed him with a family this time, he treasured it deeply.

After the Eagle Beast flew for half the day at an extremely high speed, it finally arrived at Kargath Academy, where under Chang Bai's control, it descended to a mere 100 meters above ground.

Kargath Academy was established within the plains, with a great wall 10 meters high surrounding it. The academy was extraordinarily big, and the lands it covered were vast as well. Even though Jian Chen was hovering 100 meters above ground, he still couldn't see the entire academy.

Kargath Academy was the most prestigious academy in the Gesun Kingdom, and today was its annual opening ceremony. For that reason, the front gates were extremely lively. There were many people there, as well as a few luxurious carriages that were parked not too far away. However, Jian Chen couldn't put names to the types of magical beasts that were pulling the carriages. Virtually every carriage had a few guards protecting them.

In the skies, a few flying magical beasts approached them, descending down onto the academy courtyards. Each of them carried a small child.

Chang Bai instructed the Eagle Beast to fly down towards the courtyards as well, landing them right next to a 100 meter tall tower. He brought Jian Chen directly into the tower. Outside, there were still quite a few flying magical beasts resting there,

Jian Chen and Chang Bai walked to the top of the tower to meet the headmaster of Kargath Academy. The headmaster was not that much different in age than Chang Bai, and Jian Chen had a feeling that the two had some sort of familiarity between them.

Because of this familiarity, Jian Chen could easily enter the academy without any problems. Under the instructions of the headmaster, Jian Chen's brother Changyang Hu had been called up to the top of the tower as well, allowing him to see the mysterious older brother he had never met before.

Changyang Hu was already 18 years old, the same age as his second sister Changyang Mingyue, but Changyang Mingyue was younger by 3 months.

Changyang Hu was a fairly sturdy teenager who was taller than Jian Chen, and he wore the academy uniform. He had already been enrolled in the academy for over 2 years, and his Saint Force had also reached the peak of the 10th layer. However, he had not yet condensed it into a Saint Weapon.

The distance between the peak of the 10th layer and Sainthood was not big at all, but the moment in between was very important, as condensing the Saint Force into a Saint Weapon was a very challenging task. On the Tian Yuan continent, many people weren't capable of forming a Saint Weapon since birth, because they lacked the aptitude, as well as the innate skill. According to the headmaster, Changyang Hu had already reached the peak of the 10th layer a year ago and had already tried to form a Saint Weapon 3 times, but only met with failure each time.

However, seeing an 18 year old that could form a Saint Weapon by the age of 18 was rare to see on the Tian Yuan continent. The average age was around 20 years before a Saint Weapon could be formed, but most of them were geniuses. Of course, the average person could make a Saint Weapon at that age as well, but most of them would not be able to walk down the path of martial arts for long.

Because the spiritual Qi of the Tian Yuan continent was abundant, the average life span of a person was around 200 years. For a person to form a Saint Weapon at the age of 20, that could be considered decent.

Chang Bai pointed at Changyang Hu and said to Jian Chen, "Fourth master, that person is your brother Changyang Hu." Looking over at him, he cried, "Eldest master, this is your younger brother Changyang Xiang Tian."

"Big brother!" Jian Chen looked at Changyang Hu with a smile as he shouted out a greeting. In his eyes, he had felt that Changyang Hu looked to be a strong yet straightforward person, but his heart was not in complete agreement.

Hearing Jian Chen's shout, Changyang Hu scratched at his cheek with a laugh, "Fourth brother, feel free to call on me anytime. If you are bullied in the future, then look for me straight away, and I'll smash them to pieces!"

Laughing at his brother's speech, Jian Chen responded, "Then I'll be relying on, you big brother." With this first impression, Jian Chen had thought that Changyang Hu was pretty nice, and so all worries he had about his big brother began to disappear like smoke.

Changyang Hu shook his head and laughed once more, "It'll be no problem, not a problem at all. No matter what you say, I am still your older brother, so protecting the fourth brother is an absolute must." After this, Changyang Hu suddenly froze before looking around, his eyes revealing some doubts. "Chang Bai, where are second sister and third brother?" He asked.

"Eldest master, the second lady and third master have not yet reached the requirements to enter the academy, so it is only the fourth master that was able to join." Chang Bai answered serenely.

"Oh!" Hearing that, Changyang Hu let loose a disappointed look and began to mutter, "How did they not reach the requirement of reaching the 8th layer. This is silly. Fourth brother is more formidable, since he reached the 8th layer so quickly. He's even more amazing than me, his older brother.

"Eldest master, please escort the fourth master down. From today on, you need to properly look after your younger brother. I still have some business to settle with the headmaster." Chang Bai said.

Changyang Hu nodded his head firmly and pounded his chest with his fist, "Chang Bai, don't worry! I definitely won't allow anyone in the school to bully fourth brother!"

Afterwards, Jian Chen received the school medal and left with his older brother.

After exiting the tower, Jian Chen looked at the school medal in his hands. Aside from it being proof of him being a student, it also contained his dorm address.

Although Jian Chen was not familiar with the layout of the academy, but because Changyang Hu was there to lead the way, they both ended up at their destination sooner than he had expected.

The dormitories of the academy were built using a very durable type of stone and were split into 2 different areas. One area was for the commoners to live in, and the other side was for people like Jian Chen, who had a prestigious clan backing them up. The differences between the two were like comparing the heavens to the earth.

Kargath Academy was Gesun Kingdom's most prestigious academy, so it naturally had to have a unique characteristic. Kargath Academy had a very strict rule; one must reach the 8th layer of Saint Force before they reach the age of 18 in order to fulfill the requirement. If a student does not reach this level, then even if they are from an extremely prestigious and rich family, they will not be able to enroll in the academy.

Because the tuition costs were very low, even the commoners were able enroll with ease. Some of the students that successfully enrolled came from impoverished families, but Kargath Academy had even waived the fee for many. For that reason, many students were of a commoner's background, and had a poor innate skill for cultivation.

At Kargath Academy, there was also another iron-set rule that an aristocrat's follower could not casually bully commoner students. Otherwise, no matter how powerful your family background was, you would still suffer from a serious punishment. If the situation was serious enough, then you might even be expelled. Although this would offend some major families, Kargath Academy's had the backing of the Gesun Kingdom. Moreover, the headmaster was one of the six major elites in Gesun Empire, so no major family dared to speak up against this iron-set rule.

Jian Chen's dorm room was around 10 square meters, and the room's decor was extremely simple. Aside from a bed and a chair, there wasn't anything else present. However, the entire room had been tidied so that it was extremely clean and organized, and it was completely spotless

"Fourth brother, this is your room; remember the location well, and be careful to not go the wrong way." Changyang Hu laughed.

Jian Chen nodded, and after throwing down some of the clothes he had brought with him, he was pulled away by his older brother to wander around the school grounds. Changyang Hu claimed that it was so that Jian Chen could familiarize himself with his new surroundings.

For the entire afternoon, Jian Chen was dragged around by Changyang Hu to wander aimlessly around the school.

Suddenly, Changyang Hu opened his mouth to say, "Fourth brother, tomorrow is the annual new student competition. There are plenty of rewards, and the first newcomer king can even win a rank 3 Magic Stone. The person in second place can win a rank 2 Magic Stone, and the person in third place can win a rank 1 Magic Stone. You have to try your best and earn first place."

Jian Chen's heart pounded after hearing that, "Eldest brother, aren't Class 3 Monster Cores precious?" Even though Jian Chen knew about monster cores, he was still ignorant in regards to their prices.

"Of course. Class 3 Monster Cores can be sold for more than 100 Amethyst coins. I joined this academy 4 years ago, but I have never been able to use a Class 3 Monster Core; the highest I've used was a Class 2 core that cost me 50 Amethyst coins." Changyang Hu's face started to show signs of heartache after saying that.

Jian Chen began to plan it all out in his head. He quickly decided that he would try his best to win that Class 3 Monster Core from the martial arts competition. Despite never using a Class 3 Monster core before, he knew that absorbing the energy contained inside would allow him to increase his rate of cultivation. He didn't know how fast he would be able to absorb World Essence after taking the Class 3 Core, but he knew that by using it, the peak of the 10th Saint Force Layer was within reach.

As the sky gradually grew darker, Changyang Hu led Jian Chen down to the student dining hall. After the dinner they split off and went their own ways, returning to their dormitories.

After returning to his room, Jian Chen closed the door and sat on his bed and to begin cultivating once more. However, he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Jian Chen looked at the door in confusion, before walking to the door and opening it.

Standing outside the door was a 30 year old woman wearing a light green dress. Although her beauty was not so much as to cause entire cities to war for her favor, she could still be considered beautiful. Her long, dark green hair went down to her shoulders, and gave off an impression as if it was floating.

"Is there something you needed?" Jian Chen asked with some confusion.

"You are one of the new students of Kargath Academy. Tomorrow will be the Kargath Academy's annual Freshmen is mandatory for all new students to participate. Do not forget to come." She spoke with a tone that was as equally apathetic as her stare.

"Yes, I know. Is there anything else?" Jian Chen asked.

"No." After dropping this word, the woman turned around to leave and walk to the next room. It seemed as if she had to notify every students one by one.

Closing the door, Jian Chen returned to his bed and sat down on it. Quickly, he returned to a silent state of cultivation.

The next morning, Jian Chen finished his night of cultivation, left his room and headed towards the dining hall alone. Since he left so early, there weren't many people up yet so he was able to find himself an empty table to sit at due to the entire hall being almost empty.

After eating his breakfast, Jian Chen headed towards the center of the academy grounds where the sports field were. The martial arts competition would be taking place in the stadium here.

Along the way, Jian Chen noticed that he was surrounded by freshmen just like him, and they were also heading towards the sports field. Because the elder students all wore a school uniform, Jian Chen could clearly recognize which ones were freshmen. Although, there weren't that many upperclassmen;perhaps they did not have much interest in the freshman competition.

When Jian Chen arrived at the sports field, he could see 5 circles, each 30 feet in diameter, on top of the sports grounds. There were already many people already surrounding it.

Jian Chen arrived at a tree a few meters away from the grounds. Quickly running towards the tree, he pushed off against the tree trunk to jump upwards towards the tree top. Settling down on the tree branch, Jian Chen started to rest in the shade, since it was still too early for the competition to start. He was in no rush to get there so early, and pointlessly suffer under the blazing sun.

Time quickly passed. Soon, it was the time for the competition to start. At this time, the competition arena was already packed with thousands of students. Only a few of them wore student uniforms, everyone else was a new student.

However, Jian Chen noticed that most of the freshmen students –students who had achieved the ninth layer or better– were most definitely from commoner families. He made this judgement based on the new student uniforms they all had to wear; these people were wearing crude and coarse versions. This made sense given that the Gesun Kingdom was predominantly comprised of commoners, and children from impoverished families were used to working hard. Thus, these kids worked hard to improve when cultivating Saint Force, and so were capable of reaching the 8th layer and joining Kargath Academy.

Aside from those students, the rest of the freshmen seemed to be around 16 to 17 years old. There were even some ** year olds. Jian Chen himself was 15 when he had reached the 8th layer, an achievement that could not be so easily replicated, and so it made Jian Chen the youngest student there. Despite that, Jian Chen's physical growth far surpassed anyone else. Although he was really 15 years old, he was built as if he were a few years older.

After resting for a while, Jian Chen hopped to the ground nimbly and walked towards the competition area. Although a crowd was already forming, Jian Chen didn't try to force his way through. Instead, he calmly stood on the outside. Regarding the freshman martial arts competition, Jian Chen had no interest in it at all; even watching it didn't seem appealing to him. The only reason he would be participating today was because of the Class 3 Monster Core.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

Suddenly, a loud piercing sound rang out. The cry was so loud, it was heard by everyone in the sports field and everybody immediately became quiet. In an instant, the whole field became absolutely silent..

A white-robed, middle-aged man came walking up to the podium. The man looked like any other man his age, with no remarkable features. However, the light in his eyes was so bright, it looked as if he had a Saint Weapon hidden inside, making people afraid to stare straight into his eyes.

Looking at everyone, the man smiled kindly. Speaking loudly in a friendly voice, he said, "Dear students, I am the vice-principal of Kargath Academy Bai En. I will be the one in charge of today's martial arts competition today as well as being the one who makes up the rules. I am going to presume everyone has already seen the rules on the post board at the school gates, so I won't repeat it. The prize for this year is the same as always, the first place winner will win a Class 3 Monster Core, the runner up will win the Class 2 Monster Core, and the third place winner will get the Class 1 Monster Core. Other than that, the top 50 participants in this competition will receive a single Amethyst coin as a prize.

Hearing this, every single student wearing the uniform of the commoners began to cheer in excitement. They did not spend much from day to day and only had simple food as their meal every day. A single Gold Coin was enough to feed a family of three for a month, and an Amethyst Coin was worth 100 Gold coins. Although a Monster Core was a precious item, but none of them had any high hopes to win one since there were only 3 chances to earn one. But getting a single Amethyst coin had 50 chances to be earned.

At this moment, pretty much all the students from less privileged families could not help but become more excited. They all inwardly swore to themselves that for the sake of this Amethyst Coin, they would have to work hard to enter the top 50 spots.

Looking at the jubilant expressions on the faces of the commoners, some of the nobles looked on with disdain. A single Amethyst coin may not be such a small amount of money to a commoner, but to a noble, it was worth very little. Even Jian Chen had 50 Amethyst coins on himself to use as he wished.

The freshmen martial arts competition began not long after. The students personally drew individual lots to draw tags from within a large container. However, the tags were covered by a piece of paper, making it impossible to see the numbers on them.

The two pots had different labels. One of the pots were for students who had reached the 8th layer while the other pot was for those who had reached the 9th layer. This method made sure that no student would fight another student from a different layer and make the outcome of the battle completely predictable from the start.

Although Kargath Academy's lowest entry requirement was having reached the eighth Saint Force level, there were always some new people amongst the freshmen every year that were geniuses who were not at all lacking in terms of cultivation. It could also be said that there were a few treasured geniuses that had been given up by the aristocratic families, so there were always freshmen that had already achieved the ninth Saint Force layer admitted to the school every year.

Drawing lots did not take long to accomplish, and soon enough it was Jian Chen's turn. Looking at the pot, Jian Chen casually grabbed a single tag from within. Unsealing the tag, he read the words with a relieved look, "Third stage, number 64."

Seeing the number on the tag, he inwardly understood clearly that his opponent would be number 136 on the third stage, because this time's competition matched opponents based on finding the two numbers that would give a sum of 200.

After getting their tags, every student slowly walked towards their respective platforms while Jian Chen walked over to the third platform.

The competitions were progressing at a fast rate, as the first round of the competition only took half a day. Because Jian Chen's own opponent was not at all knowledgeable about how to fight with martial arts, Jian Chen had easily won and made his way into round 2.

After eating lunch, the freshmen martial arts competition continued. However, the number of competitors had decreased by half. It seemed like there were only 500 people present by the end of that first round.

The second round was decided in the same way as the first round, with drawing lots. Because the amount of people that remained was far less than that of the first round, it had only took 4 hours to finish. By the end of the 2nd round, 256 students were left standing, Coincidentally, since it was an even number, then there would not be an awkward situation where there would be a student that was left out of the drawings.

Immediately heading into the third round, people began to draw lots to find their opponents. By night time, there were only 128 people that advanced onwards, with Jian Chen standing amongst them with a lazy expression.

Leaving the competition grounds, Jian Chen noticed that the sky had long since darkened. He rubbed at his protesting stomach and shook his head with slight disappointment. In his previous world, he could have gone several days and nights without eating and still not feel hungry. Now that he was used to three meals a day, he now felt hungry after skipping a single meal, leaving Jian Chen to feel slightly disappointed with himself.

Soon, Jian Chen arrived at the dining hall. After receiving his food, he found an empty seat and began to eat. Although the food was simple, completely incomparable to what he had in the Changyang household, Jian Chen still ate it with relish.

Since the current freshmen martial arts competition had just ended, the current number of people present in the dining hall was not any less than usual. In fact, there were so many people that not long after Jian Chen sat down, all of the seats in the dining hall had been filled. There were still many people who couldn't find available spaces. Although Jian Chen was sitting alone at a table, not a single person dared to sit together with him, since all the other students there were peasants. How could they possibly dare to sit with Jian Chen, who was wearing luxurious clothing? It was obvious at first glance that he was from an aristocratic family.

"Peng!"

"Peng!"

Just as Jian Chen began to eat with relish, a hand suddenly slapped onto his shoulder, causing the table to shake from the action.

Jian Chen scowled as he slowly lifted his head up. The owner of the hand belonged to a male noble around 20 years old. Beside him were two youths, with faces full of arrogance. One was a male, and one was a female, and both wore luxurious satin clothing. It was obvious from first glance that they were from wealthy families.

Looking at the three nicely dressed students with a flat expression, he spoke with an annoyed expression, "Is there a problem?"

The 20 year old noble's face had an ominous glint as he stared at Jian Chen. Speaking arrogantly, the noble said, "Hey, brat. This table here belongs to us, you should sit somewhere else." Although the youth could tell that Jian Chen was by no means a commoner from the clothes he wore, the youth still did not bother to look at Jian Chen in the eye.

Hearing what the male had said, Jian Chen looked at him with disdain and said, "If you want to eat, then sit down and eat. This table is for the entire school to enjoy; furthermore, the table doesn't have your name written on it. Since when did this table become yours?"

After hearing this, the noble's face looked quite angry. Having already lost his patience, he shouted, "Are you going to move or not?"

By this time, the spectacle at Jian Chen's table had already attracted the attention of everyone else. Although there were many people watching, no one had the audacity to step in to say something.

A smirk appeared on Jian Chen's face. These type of occurrences happened many times in his past life, but he would always teach the other aggravators a lesson.

"Of course I'll let you, just wait for me to finish my food first." Looking away, Jian Chen began to dig into his food with renewed interest. Because he stuffed his face full of food, Jian Chen's voice was slightly muffled

However, to these three people, Jian Chen's meaning was loud and clear.

"Brother, it looks your power isn't enough in this school; you couldn't even claim a table. You'd better not make the two of us eat our food outside." The girl behind the noble lightly laughed.

Hearing these words, the look of awkwardness on the face of the 20 years old or so young man disappeared, leaving only a look of anger. Staring viciously at Jian Chen, he shouted, "Kid, what is your name, and what family are you from? If you have the courage, tell me."

Jian Chen's eyebrows creased together, but before he could say anything, another voice cried out, "Ka Di Yun, you are one of the upper classmen of Kargath Academy, to think you have the nerve to bully one of the freshmen!"

The one who had spoken was another person about the same age as Ka Di Yun. He also wore the same academy uniform, and he walked towards them.

Seeing this youth, Ka Di Yun face slightly changed. His eyes showed a hint of fear, as he said, "Bai Mo Ran, you should not meddle in my affairs."

At this point, Jian Chen knew the names of both people. The one from earlier was called Ka Di Yun, and the one that had just arrived was called Bai Mo Ran.

The youth called Bai Mo Ran chuckled and said, "Ka Di Yun, it is true that your affairs are not for me to meddle in. But since I am an upperclassman, I cannot ignore the troubles of a junior."

Hearing this, the faces of the two youths standing behind Ka Di Yun changed.

At this time, the girl standing behind Ka Di Yun hesitated a bit, and then lightly tugged at Ka Di Yun's clothes. She lightly whispered, "Big brother, there are some open seats over there, we should just go sit over there.

Ka Di Yun looked around the dining hall, and sure enough, a spot not too far away had opened up. Staring at Jian Chen with a ferocious glare, he waved his hand, "Second brother, third sister, let's go." He said as he started to walk over to the empty table; if he had continued with this spectacle, then there would had been no benefit for him. He was also slightly afraid of coming out as the loser, since Bai Mo Ran's clan was not at all weaker than the Ka Di clan. Bai Mo Ran himself was actually stronger than him.

But that wasn't the most important aspect. The bigger matter at hand was that if word got out that an upper classman like Ka Di Yun was bullying one of the freshmen, then he would become the target of ridicule. Furthermore, if the headmaster heard about this, then he would definitely receive a strict punishment.

Another reason why Ka Di Yun wasn't willing to pick on commoners for their seats was for something that every upper classmen knew about within their hearts. As one of the 6 experts of the Gesun Kingdom, the headmaster of Kargath Academy was very partial towards the poor students.

At that moment, Ka Di Yun's sister looked at Jian Chen with renewed interest as if she suddenly recalled something. Opening her mouth, she said, "Oh, I just remembered. You're one of the 128 freshmen students that made it into the next step of the competition. I saw you on top of the fighting arenas." As she spoke, the girl's eyes suddenly gained a malicious intent within them.

Hearing this, the previously silent male turned around to say something, "I hope that I'll be matched up against you tomorrow in the competition then." With an evil laugh, he turned around and walked towards the empty table where Ka Di Yun was heading towards.

Taking in the words of that male student, Jian Chen didn't bother responding, nor did he care about the person at all.

Bai Mo Ran walked on over to Jian Chen and patted his shoulder with a laugh, "You really have guts to not have given Ka Di Yun face. If he tries to bully you in the future, then all you need to do is just look for me."

Jian Chen stood up from his stool and smiled, "I am Changyang Xiang Tian. Thank you for helping me with this embarrassing situation, otherwise, I'm afraid it would had escalated into something troublesome."

Bai Mo Ran started to chuckle, "Junior doesn't need to be this polite. Ka Di Yun's clan has been fairly aggressive within the academy recently. I've long since found him to be quite annoying, but unfortunately, I could never find an opportunity to teach him a lesson. Right, I am called Bai Mo Ran, you can just call me Senior Bai Mo Ran though."

"You'll want to be very careful in the competition tomorrow. The two people behind Ka Di Yun were his younger sister Kai Di Qiu Li, and his younger brother Ka Di Liang. It's been rumored that both of them have already reached the 9th layer of Saint Force."

Jian Chen only laughed and said, "Senior Bai Mo Ran, don't worry. If I end up seeing them, then I will definitely be careful."

Nodding, Bai Mo Ran said, "It's getting late so I'll be returning to my dorm. Junior, I hope we'll see each other again."

After Bai Mo Ran left, Jian Chen quickly finished up the rest of his meal before returning to his dorm. Throughout the entire day, he hadn't seen his older brother Changyang Hu at all. His actions and whereabouts were completely unknown.

Casually sweeping away the dust in his room, Jian Chen climbed onto the bed and began to cultivate once more, as per accordance to the lessons.

The second day of the competition quickly progressed. Because there were less and less people, the top 8 were quickly decided by the end of the day. After the top 50 had been established, the academy had canceled the rule that prevented students from the 8th layer to fight against those from the 9th layer. The students were now free to fight with whomever they were matched up against, so aside from Jian Chen and another suntanned student, the other 6 students had already reached the 9th layer of Saint Force. In order for the suntanned student or Jian Chen to enter the top 8, they had to defeat some students who had already reached the 9th layer of Saint Force.

Other than that, Jian Chen had ran into something unexpected. Of the 6 freshmen who reached the 9th layer, 2 of them were the students he had ran into yesterday: Ka Di Qiuli and Ka Di Liang. Although Jian Chen had yet to fight against the two, he felt that each time he saw them, there was a hidden air of provocation between them.

Regarding the two siblings' glares, Jian Chen paid no mind to them. In his mind, he could only think about pitting himself against the only other 8th layer Saint Force freshman. That male student's martial art style was clearly seen by Jian Chen, who thought that it was fairly unique that suited him greatly. His strength was extraordinary as well, which was the main reason why he had made it into the top 8 without any real trouble. His strength far surpassed those of anyone else his age,, and half the opponents he had faced had been thrown out of the ring.

The final matches were to be held tomorrow, and by the end of that, the Freshmen Ruler would be announced.

Leaving the sports grounds, Jian Chen immediately headed towards the dining hall. After getting his food, he saw out of the corner of his eye one of the competitors of the competition; it was the suntanned student. He was currently eating by himself in a corner of the room. The student was wearing simple clothing with a few patches over it. Although the male looked to be around 16 years old, Jian Chen could see a firm expression on his slightly immature face. His stature and build did not fit his age at all; he was already reaching a height of 1.8 meters, almost as tall as Jian Chen's brother, Changyang Hu, and his girth was larger by a circle too.

With a bit of hesitation, he walked towards the table where the suntanned student was eating, and sat down with his tray. Turning his head to greet him, Jian Chen smiled, "I am Changyang Xiang Tian. What name do you go by?"

Tilting his head up to meet Jian Chen, his eyes slowly swept over his clothes before he said, "I am called Tie Ta."

Laughing, Jian Chen said, "I only recently saw you fight in the competition. To see a student of the 8th layer beat students of the 9th layer is truly amazing."

Hearing Jian Chen's praise, Tie Ta couldn't help but laugh as well, "I only won because my strength was better than theirs, that's all. They were truly difficult to deal with; even now I'm still sore from the matches."

Hearing Tie Ta, Jian Chen couldn't help but ask, "Tie Ta, you say you have a great amount of strength, but how heavy of an object can you lift?"

"When I was back at home, I could lift a 200 kilogram rock." He said quite arrogantly with a face full of pride.

Jian Chen's face went blank as he heard that answer. This was a monster of a student; a 200 kilogram rock was impossible to lift for the average adult. But for a young boy like Tie Ta to be able to lift such a titanic rock, Jian Chen could only feel awe from this fact.

"Tie Ta, how old are you?" Jian Chen had started to look at Tie Ta in a different light now.

"16 years old." Tie Ta said as he munched on his food, his chewing caused his words to be almost inaudible.

Jian Chen's impression of him grew even more as he said, "Tie Ta, did you have this strength since you were a kid?"

"That's right, my strength was always stronger than most but then so was my appetite. Because I couldn't always eat until I was full in my home, I usually went up to the mountains and hunted for my own food." Tie Ta said flatly.

Taking in a deep breath, Jian Chen mentally confirmed that Tie Ta's strength was definitely a god given power. Otherwise, a young boy like him would never have been able to lift such a heavy rock. But what surprised Jian Chen even more was that Tie Ta would frequently hunt by himself in the mountains. For someone who was barely 16 to be able to hunt with ease in the mountains, this made Jian Chen's respect for him grow by an extreme amount. After all, not only did wild beasts appear in the mountains, magical beasts would occasionally appear as well and the latter's strengths were incomparable to those of regular wild beasts.

Tie Ta rubbed at his stomach and stood up from his stool with a laugh, "Changyang Xiang Tian, I've eaten my fill so I'll be returning to my dorm to sleep. Tomorrow is another day of the competition after all."

Jian Chen nodded his head, "I hope that you will make it into the top 3 in tomorrow's contest."

Tie Ta fiercely nodded and a resolute look could be seen in his eyes, "I will definitely work hard and strive for the top 3. A single Class 1 Monster Core can be sold for at least 10 Amethyst coins!"

Not long after Tie Ta had left, Jian Chen quickly ate his own food and returned to his room. Right as he closed the door behind him, a knock could be heard on it.

"Fourth brother, are you here?" Asked Changyang Hu in a strong voice.

Hearing the voice, Jian Chen was surprised. It had been two full days since he had last seen any trace of his brother. Quickly opening the door, he invited Changyang Hu inside his room.

"Fourth brother, I'm sorry but I haven't been keeping track with your progress in the competition." He hurriedly said before Jian Chen could open his mouth to ask a question.

Jian Chen nodded his head and said, "I've already advanced onto the top 8; tomorrow will be the final day of the matches."

As he listened to Jian Chen, Changyang Hu suddenly grew happy for his younger brother's success. Excitedly, he said, "Fourth brother, you are truly amazing! It's no wonder you came here before second sister and third brother." Fishing a thumb sized crystal out of his pockets, Changyang Hu placed it within Jian Chen's hands, "Fourth brother, this is a Class 1 Monster Core. Two days ago, a few friends and I went to the forest behind the academy and killed a Class 1 Magical Beast together. This is the monster core I fought to get for you, so take it. It's already getting late, so your big brother won't disturb your rest anymore. Tomorrow is the final day of the competition, so you must work hard and earn the number one title!" Changyang Hu then exited from the room, after slowly closing the door shut.

The moment before Changyang Hu could close the door, Jian Chen caught a glimpse of a 3 inch long claw mark that ran down Changyang Hu's arm.

Silently looking at the Class 1 Monster Core in his hands, Jian Chen felt a wave of warmth that lingered. For a while, Jian Chen's heart was actually unable to calm down.

Although it was only a Class 1 Monster Core, Jian Chen could feel Changyang Hu's concern radiating from it. Thinking back to the wound on Changyang Hu's arm, Jian Chen knew that the wound came from hunting a magical beast. Whenever Jian Chen thought about the gift, he couldn't help but feel warm inside, another emotion that he had never experienced in his previous life.

After standing in the center of his room with a stunned expression for a while, Jian Chen finally took a deep breath, gradually forcing himself into a state of calm. Then, he got onto his bed to start cultivating once more. Although he had the monster core now, he did not want to use it just yet, so he stored it away in his Space Belt. With the competition in mind, Jian Chen fully believed that he could take the number one spot. After all, in his previous world, he was a unique expert that stood at the peak of the world. And although he had lost a great amount of his power after reincarnating, he still had the knowledge of every type of swordplay, as well as understanding the deep profound sword laws, so much that they were ingrained into his soul. He had not lost his understanding of the ways of the sword, and so this is how Jian Chen would advance through the continent in the future.

The next morning, Jian Chen finished his breakfast quickly before arriving at the competition. Perhaps it was because today was the final day of the competition, but a lot more people came today than the two previous days combined. Many of these newcomers were older students.

The fighting grounds had been fully fixed last night, and the original five arenas had been changed to four. However, the four arenas were now larger than before; the arenas from yesterday were on a completely different level that couldn't be compared with the new sizes.

At this moment, Jian Chen felt something behind him. Turning around, he saw his older brother Changyang Hu forging his way forward of the crowd, trying to reach him.

Taking note of Jian Chen's stare, Changyang Hu smiled widely. Quickly detaching himself from the crowd, he ran up to Jian Chen's side and slapped him on the shoulder. "Fourth Brother, today is the day you must work hard. Your big brother won't demand of you to get the number one spot; getting into the top 3 is good enough!" To Changyang Hu, getting a monster core was only a minor reward, the most important thing was getting a good rank. Although the price of a monster core was not easily ignored, it was not something that the eldest son of the Changyang Clan deeply desired.

Jian Chen laughed and said, "Big brother, you don't have to worry. I definitely will not let you down."

The time of the competition came quickly. This time, the top 8 would fight it out in the semi finals. After drawing lots to decide their opponents, Jian Chen immediately walked onto the arena. Not long after, Jian Chen's opponent slowly came up into the arena, but to Jian Chen's surprise, his opponent was a girl. More precisely, his opponent was the girl from last time– Ka Di Qiuli.

Ka Di Qiuli was wearing a dark red style of clothing, and although she was only 16 or 17 years old, her body was developing nicely. What should be sticking out was sticking out, and what should be thin was thin. Her skin tight uniform sketched her out to be a true example of a beautiful woman with delicate white skin, along with her naturally beautiful face with tender white skin. At this point, she had already enraptured the attention of all the boys in the crowd and, without a doubt, Ka Di Qiuli was definitely beautiful enough to cause cities to fight over her. However, as true as it was for most people born into a prestigious clan, she carried around with her an arrogant air.

Jian Chen stood empty handed on top of the arena. The reason why he was empty handed was because of the academy rules. They believed that the best way to judge a person's strength was by empty handed combat, and so bladed weapons were not allowed. And since it was not possible to form a Saint Weapon without being a Saint, all of the freshmen were forced to fight without weapons.

Ka Di Qiuli looked at Jian Chen with a haughty look, "You really didn't let us down. For your arrogance in the dining hall the other day, I'll be sure to teach you a lesson today." Ka Di Qiuli's voice carried a sharp but clear sounding tone.

Hearing this Jian Chen's face revealed a grin of disdain. Within the people who were born within prestigious clans, many of them truly did not know how vast the heavens and earth were.

"Boom!"

A loud sound rung throughout the arena, signalling the start of the match.

Because all four of the arenas were in the same place, the moment the gong was heard, all 8 participants simultaneously started to move and began to fight.

Ka Di Qiuli quickly strode towards Jian Chen, but when she was within 3 meters from him, she suddenly jumped up into the air to deliver a flying jump kick towards his face. Although Ka Di Qiuli was young, she was fairly strong since she was already at the 9th Saint Force layer.

Jian Chen stood in place without moving a single step. As Ka Di Qiuli's foot got closer to his face, he tilted his neck sideways, allowing the kick to merely graze past the side of his head.

Ka Di Qiuli's reaction speed was fairly fast, the moment she realized her kick didn't connect, she swung out at his nose with a Saint Force enhanced fist. Not only was her fist coming in at rapid speeds, but with a huge amount of energy stored within her fist, any normal person would come out with serious injuries after being hit by that. As far as Jian Chen was concerned, she would not hold back. No matter if she ended up defeating Jian Chen and moving on into the top 4, or if she was just teaching Jian Chen a lesson, she would definitely not allow herself to hold back.

Jian Chen dealt with Ka Di Qiuli's attack with ease, and although his opponent was one layer higher than him, Jian Chen was not like an average child. His battle experiences from his past world were abundant, so if he wanted to continue this match without fighting back, then Ka Di Qiuli wouldn't even be able to touch his clothes, much less beat him within five rounds.

After Ka Di Qiuli had tried to attack him a few dozen times without even being able to even touch Jian Chen's clothes, she grew extremely annoyed and stopped her barrage of blows. Panting slightly, she stuck both her hands by her waists and glared at Jian Chen, "Hey, are you going to actually fight or not? If you're not going to fight, then get off the arena instead of jumping around all over the place."

Jian Chen laughed as he looked at the fuming Ka Di Qiuli and said, "The person that'll be leaving the arena will be you, not me. How do you plan to beat me if you can't even touch my clothes?"

"Y-you…" Ka Di Qiuli's naturally beautiful face grew red with anger as she pointed at him with her finger, and she was momentarily unable to speak. But then she grew calm and she rolled her eyes, sneering, "So what if I can't touch you? You can't even stand to fight me head on, and can only dodge my blows like a little coward."

"Eh, is that right?" Jian Chen's face revealed a hint of a smile as he looked at her with a strange expression.

Ka Di Qiuli looked on haughtily, speaking with complete conviction, "Of course. If you aren't a coward, then you'd better try actually fighting me."

Jian Chen glanced over at the other 3 rings and saw that the other matches were beginning to wrap up. Turning his head back to look at Ka Di Qiuli again, he laughed, "If you really want to fight me head on, then fine, I'll grant you your wish."


	5. Freshman ruler & challenge

Hearing Jian Chen words, Ka Di Qiuli's eyes brightened, "You said so yourself, so don't you dare try to say otherwise later!" Ka Di Qiuli clearly had no desire to let Jian Chen prepare himself, so before she could even finish her sentence, she had already started to dash towards him. Just like the first blow, she leapt up into the air and lashed her leg out to kick him in the face, but this time the speed of her kick was much faster than her original one.

Jian Chen gave an odd smile as the kick came closer. Just like he said earlier, Jian Chen didn't bother to dodge, but instead, as the kick was right in front of his face, both of his hands lashed out and grabbed onto Ka Di Qiuli's calf. Exerting a decent amount of strength while twisting around, he whirled her around in one smooth motion. As he threw her, Ka Di Qiuli cried out in panic as she was spun around by Jian Chen.

Many of the surrounding students watching the event became dumbstruck. Not only did it seem like Jian Chen did not care for the fairer s*x and threw such a beautiful lady into the air in such a crude way, he had also defeated the last 6 opponents in the same manner.

Under the arena, Ka Di Yun felt the veins in his forehead throb as he watched his younger sister get mistreated in such a way. A murderous intent was focused on Jian Chen as he watched him; if it weren't for the vice headmaster Bai En presiding over the match nearby, then Ka Di Yun would have charged onto the arena long ago to teach Jian Chen a lesson.

Jian Chen's two arms were almost like strong pincers, clamping down onto her legs, as he spun her around twice before finally letting go. At that moment, one could only see Ka Di Qiuli's beautiful body streak across the sky in an arc, before finally flying out of the arena, and crashing into a group of people in the audience.

He had learned this trick from Tie Ta. After watching Tie Ta in some of his matches, he saw that he had done a similar method to easily toss his opponents out of the arena. However, Jian Chen had to admit, this method was a very easy trick to pull off for a quick but easy victory, and could be done to certain people with ease.

With only a tiny bit of disdain for the people in the audience who helped Ka Di Qiuli back to her feet, Jian Chen smirked as the referee proclaimed him the winner, before walking off the stage slowly.

Blankly looking at Jian Chen walk off the arena, Ka Di Qiuli's face fell. Since she was born, she had been pampered by thousands of people as she grew. For her to suffer humiliation from being tossed into the air after being spun around like a top, she had felt that she lost face as well as being wronged, despite not getting injured. As she thought about this, Ka Di Qiuli's eyes started to tear up, and she eventually began to leak out streams of tears as she cried silently to herself.

As Jian Chen walked down from the arena, Ka Di Qiuli's brother, Ka Di Yun, blocked his path. Glaring at him icily, he growled, "Kid, you really have some fucking courage to treat my sister like that."

Jian Chen lazily glanced over at the furious Ka Di Yun and snorted. Without saying anything, Jian Chen walked away from him. Words were not worth wasting on him, because Jian Chen couldn't stand to hear Ka Di Yun try to use his clan's influence to bully others.

Watching Jian Chen walk farther and farther away from him, Ka Di Yun's own face grew even more somber.

With the end of Jian Chen's match, the final 4 names were called out. In the end, it was Changyang Xiang Tian, Tie Ta, Ka Di Liang, and Tian Mu Xiong that remained.

As far as Tie Ta was concerned, Jian Chen was not at all surprised that he had made it. However, Jian Chen did not think that Ka Di Liang would unexpectedly make it into the top 4.

There was also the fourth participant, Tian Mu Xiong. His age wasn't all that different from Ka Di Qiuli. He had a medium-sized body, and a pale complexion. Although he was young, there was no doubt that he was handsome, with a perfect balance of his facial structures.

Sitting on top of the platform was the vice headmaster, Bai En, who slowly looked over the four remaining students. With a small nod and a laugh, he announced, "It would appear that this year's freshmen are much stronger than the freshmen before them. I can only hope that our Kargath Academy will be able to boast of someone just as strong after."

After announcing the four remaining students, they were given an hour of rest before continuing on with the competition. However, by some miraculous chance, Jian Chen's drawn opponent was Ka Di Liang, while Tie Ta's opponent was Tian Mu Xiong.

Under the arena, Ka Di Yun and his siblings gathered at the bottom and watched; Ka Di Qiuli's eyes were starting to become red and inflamed by this point.

"Second brother, you have to teach him a lesson later." Ka Di Qiuli said with unrestrained fury to Ka Di Liang before the match started.

Noticing his sister's red eyes and her tear stained face, Ka Di Liang couldn't help but feel extremely furious as he spoke, "Sister Qiu Li, don't worry. Even if I get penalized by the academy, your second brother will definitely teach him a lesson."

"Hmph, what a savage kid. To think that he would dare treat our sister like this, he really does have a death wish. Sister, please don't worry, I guarantee you, that kid will definitely only feel suffering for as long as he lives in this academy. Although the headmaster sides with the poor people, he is by no means a commoner. Even if I beat him until he's a cripple, the headmaster won't say a thing; at the very most, he'll just scold us." Ka Di Yun's face looked as if he swallowed poison. When it came to their sister, both Ka Di Yun and Ka Di Liang cared greatly for her. When Jian Chen had treated their sister in such a way, he had already earned extreme hatred from both of them.

Soon, Jian Chen and Ka Di Liang both walked onto the arena, and waited for the start of the match. Right as the gong sounded, Ka Di Liang dashed towards Jian Chen and tried to slam his fist into Jian Chen's stomach.

Jian Chen nimbly dodged Ka Di Liang's attack, while returning the blow with his own fist that was even faster than his opponent's.

"Peng!"

Before Ka Di Liang could even respond, Jian Chen's fist had already made contact with his back. The force of his punch was so strong, it forced Ka Di Liang to stagger backwards, before falling to his knees.

After one blow, Jian Chen didn't bother to hold back. Both of his legs went into motion as he quickly ran towards where Ka Di Liang was kneeling. All of a sudden, the originally staggering Ka Di Liang suddenly lost his footing once more and was sent flying again. After being hit, he flew two meters towards the edge of the ring, almost knocking him out of it, though half of his body was already hanging out of it.

Watching this display of might, every student watching Jian Chen all cried out in surprise. They had never imagined that in a single engagement, the victor would be so readily decided. This was something that every student thought was amazing; the 9th layer Saint Force student Ka Di Liang was being beaten so easily by the 8th Saint Force layer Jian Chen.

Seeing half of Ka Di Liang's body sticking out from the ring, both Ka Di Qiuli's and Ka Di Yun's hearts leapt out from their chests and into their throats.

"Ai, how can second brother be this careless, how-how annoying. He'd better not lose to a brat like him." Ka Di Qiuli cried as she stamped her foot in anger. Though the longer she looked at Ka Di Liang, the more easily one could tell her face was full of concern for her older brother.

Ka Di Yun let out a breath in exasperation, "What is second brother doing for him to be this careless and lose to a brat who's only at the 8th Saint Force?"

On top of the platform, the vice headmaster Bai En smiled excitedly as he said, "The freshmen we picked up this year are definitely jewels. One has been blessed by the heavens, while the other I can polish and shine in the future. While his attacks are simple, there is a strange sort of mystery to him. Every single time there is a crucial point in the match, he unleashes highly accurate moves with almost instantaneous reactions. These two students truly do require closer nurturing. I believe that in the future, these two will be great experts within the Tian Yuan continent. I'd better discuss this with the headmaster later."

On the arena, Ka Di Liang scrambled to pick himself back up, his forehead already dripping with cold sweat. If his body had slipped just a few more inches, then there would be no doubt that his body would've fallen down from the arena. And then if he truly did lose to an 8th Saint Force layer student in such a disgraceful manner, he would definitely have been labeled as a great disgrace.

When Ka Di Liang crawled back up and turned himself around, his surroundings suddenly blurred, and he was suddenly aware of an acute sense of pain in his stomach before he could fully comprehend what was happening. But then, his body felt as light as a feather, before he realized the stage was growing smaller and smaller. The next thing he knew, his body impacted the ground below, and his previously spotless white robes now sported a single dusty footprint.

Blankly standing up from the ground, Ka Di Liang looked all around himself, before he fully comprehended what had just happened. Indignation burst forth from his eyes, as he shot Jian Chen a malicious glare. Although he had reached the 9th layer, he had ultimately been beaten by a student who had only reached the 8th layer, and felt his defeat was an extreme waste. Every time he thought of this, Ka Di Liang's heart filled with endless anger. To him, this was definitely a huge disgrace.

Ka Di Yun walked up to Ka Di Liang and said, "Second brother, you've disappointed me. You have really lost face for our Ka Di clan." After dropping these words, Ka Di Yun didn't spare a second glance at Ka Di Liang, and immediately left the area.

Hearing Ka Di Yun's words, Ka Di Liang's face immediately turned beyond ugly.

"Second brother, you were too careless. Although you said that you would help me teach him a lesson, it ultimately became you being the one that was taught." Ka Di Qiuli said resentfully in a disappointed voice, her tone quite indignant.

Hearing this, Ka Di Liang's face changed as well, before growling, "This was the extent of his luck. It was because of this arena that he won; if we were to change places, then there would be no way he would be an opponent for me. Third sister, don't worry, I will definitely teach him a lesson in the future."

Ka Di Qiuli began to think; she felt that his reasoning had some truth to it. Slowly nodding her head, she said, "Second brother, you'll have to teach him a lesson for sure next time."

Ka Di Liang patted his chest, and solemnly vowed, "Don't worry, third sister. Leave this to me."

Not too long after Jian Chen had won his match, the match between Tie Ta and Tian Mu Xiong also started to wrap up. Although Tie Ta's Saint Force was lower than his opponent by a single layer, his heavenly blessed strength helped make up for this deficiency. In the end, he relied on the experience he had learned from hunting beasts and was finally able to beat Tian Mu Xiong by a narrow victory. Along with Jian Chen, he became one of the two finalists. By the end of the next match, one of the two will emerge victorious and be crowned the Freshman Ruler.

After resting for two hours, the competition finals finally started. Jian Chen and Tie Ta walked into the arena together,before walking to opposite ends 10 meters apart.

There were over 1000 students watching the arena already, while even more people were trying to find seats.

Jian Chen looked at Tie Ta with a smile as he spoke he praised Tie Ta, "Tie Ta, I didn't think you were this amazing to be able to end up in the finals."

Hearing Jian Chen's compliment, Tie Ta's face reddened from embarrassment, though it was obvious that he was very happy to hear the praise. With an honest laugh, Tie Ta spoke in a low voice, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you're just as amazing."

Stretching his arms and legs, Jian Chen laughed, "Tie Ta, this is the final round. Only one of us will be crowned the Freshmen Ruler, so you need to fight your hardest. If you beat me, then you'll be the champion; by winning, you'll earn a Class 3 Monster Core that is worth a few hundred purple coins. It'll be worth enough to feed your family for a lifetime."

Tie Ta grew pumped up after hearing Jian Chen talk, "Changyang Xiang Tian, I'll definitely use all of my strength, so you'd better prepare yourself!"

Jian Chen could only laugh and nod, "I won't be that easy to defeat."

"Boom!"

As the gong sounded to indicate the beginning of the match, Tie Ta immediately rushed forward after the sound. Tie Ta rushed at Jian Chen, and immediately reached out to grab him with both hands, he planned to use his heavenly blessed strength to lift and throw Jian Chen out of the arena.

Realizing his plan, Jian Chen laughed; he was already extremely familiar with Tie Ta's style of fighting. For every single match so far, Tie Ta had used the same strategy, but it had worked nicely. If Jian Chen was caught by him, then it would be extremely difficult to escape from Tie Ta's grasp.

Jian Chen retreated a few steps to escape from Tie Ta's reach. Clenching his left hand into a fist, he used around 80% of his strength to strike at his chest.

Jian Chen's fist was well timed and fast, not allowing Tie Ta any time to react at all.

"Peng!"

Jian Chen's fist let out a muffled sound on impact against Tie Ta's chest. However, Jian Chen's look of satisfaction slowly changed, while Tie Ta had a look of amazement. What he had punched did not feel like a human at all, instead, his fist had felt like it had smashed against a wall. Not only was Tie Ta strong, but his physical body was extremely robust, so robust that it was actually beyond belief.

Jian Chen's punch, however, had forced Tie Ta to stagger backwards, but only for a moment. Roaring out loud, he charged at Jian Chen once more with both of his hands outstretched. With a punch using only 80% of his strength, Jian Chen didn't even leave a mark on Tie Ta's skin.

Jian Chen began to feel excitement as he watched Tie Ta come closer with his fists. He didn't bother to dodge or flee; instead, he prepared to use 100% of his power to strike back with his own hands.

The two fists struck against each other in midair, and the impact created a loud sound. It was so loud, that everyone in the crowd below the arena could hear it as clear as day.

As the two fists made contact, Jian Chen's feet couldn't help but slide backwards at least 10 meters before finally stopping. His right hand had already started to tremble, so it was clear to see that Jian Chen had taken more damage than given. Even though he had surpassed the average cultivation level for Saint Force, he was still far from the level where he could easily ignore damage from something like this.

Tie Ta, on the other hand, only slid backwards two meters. His face showed no outward emotion, and he appeared to not have suffered even the smallest amount of damage.

Jian Chen rubbed at his reddening hand. After two confrontations, he now fully understood how foolish it was to engage with Tie Ta straight on. Tie Ta's strength wasn't just used for intimidation, his body was actually inconceivably strong.. Even someone a level stronger than Tie Ta could not be his equal. The only thing that could lead to victory against Tie Ta was if one relied on speed.

"Tie Ta, your strength has already far surpassed my expectations, but I'll be using my full strength now." Jian Chen said as he walked forward.

Tie Ta laughed, "Come then, Changyang Xiang Tian, you won't be able to hurt me." Tie Ta's tone was filled with a fierce conviction.

Jian Chen stopped his idle chatter as well. When the distance between him and Tie Ta had been reduced to only 5-6 meters, his footsteps suddenly changed. His legs became a mysterious blur that suddenly re-appeared behind Tie Ta. Before Tie Ta could even react, two fierce fists landed consecutive blows on his back.

"Dong!" "Dong!" "Dong!"

A constant series of muffled blows came ringing out from the arena, almost as if it was just a single continuous line of sounds. Under such heavy attacks, even Tie Ta's body couldn't help but falter forwards so much that he was left with very little time to turn around.

"Ha!"

Tie Ta snarled in anger as he tried to steady himself. Suddenly, he turned around with his fists out and tried to smash them into Jian Chen.

The moment when Tie Ta tried to attack Jian Chen, he lightly leapt 2 meters into the air. Narrowly dodging Tie Ta's fist, Jian Chen used both of his legs to kick at Tie Ta from midair. Both of his legs held formidable power, and they thrusted towards Tie Ta's back.

"Dong!" "Dong!" "Dong!"…

Jian Chen lashed out with his feet several times before landing back onto the ground. By this point, Tie Ta's face had been kicked by Jian Chen multiple times, causing his face to bruise all over.

Immediately after landing on the ground, Jian Chen turned around on the floor and bent his legs down without pausing. His left leg revolved in a 180 degree arc, his right leg swept at Tie Ta's own legs.

"Peng!"

Tie Ta's leg crumbled down below him, but he immediately bounced back up, and snarled as he rushed at Jian Chen.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta began to engage in another close combat situation, but with Tie Ta's god given strength and his frighteningly robust body, Jian Chen had no chance of winning against him. Since Jian Chen had already experienced it twice, he had thought of a countermeasure for this situation. Although it wasn't the best idea, he had no other ways of fighting against him. Jian Chen had decided to rely on his nimbleness to fight against Tie Ta. Even though Tie Ta's body was extremely strong, Jian Chen had been attacking the same place on Tie Ta's body to make it so that Tie Ta would feel so much pain, he would eventually be forced to grimace.

The following situation was now becoming one sided. With Jian Chen relying on the experience he had accumulated over the past world to constantly beat Tie Ta so much that he could only run around with his hands over his head. Although at times Tie Ta had found some opportunities to fight back, he was not able to hurt Jian Chen, his attacks could not even touch Jian Chen's clothes at all.

At this display, every student in the audience could only watch the match in shock. No matter how fast Jian Chen was with his martial arts, his speed had far outstripped the average person, causing all of the students to look on with great interest, as it was something they had never witnessed before.

On the top of the platform, Bai En gasped in admiration as he watched Jian Chen, "This kid is definitely a unique one, his battle experience is rich, and his speed isn't slow at all either. It seems this student is called Changyang Xiang Tian, so judging from his name, he is from Lore City's Changyang Clan. It seems that I really will have to make a report to the headmaster later."

As the battle continued to persist, Tie Ta finally reached his limit. He cried out loud, and exclaimed, "Stop, stop! I can't fight anymore, I give up!"

Jian Chen immediately stopped his attack and smiled brightly at Tie Ta, "Why aren't you fighting anymore?"

Tie Ta rubbed at the reddening spots where Jian Chen had repeatedly hit with a miserable face and said sadly, "You move so fast that I can't even see you clearly. There's no way I'd be able to attack you, so the entire time was just you wailing on me."

Laughing, Jian Chen asked, "So you're just going to give up the number one spot then?" Although Jian Chen hadn't held back as he fought against Tie Ta, his skin was so thick and his body was so strong, that there was barely any serious damage done to him at all.

Tie Ta nodded his head and spoke in a muffled voice, "I won't be able to beat you, so the number one spot isn't mine to have. Second place is already decent enough; a Class 2 Monster Core can be sold for a decent price to."

Afterwards, the two students walked off the stage while the third place winner was announced; Ka Di Liang and Tian Mu Xiong who had fought it out against each other in a battle to determine the winner. In the end, it was Tian Mu Xiong who had won and claimed the title of third place.

After the quota for the top three players was met, Jian Chen was called up onto the platform. As the vice headmaster Bai En walked towards him, he glanced at Jian Chen with no small amount of admiration. Immediately looking away, he turned his head to look at the thousand students in the audience and announced, "Dear students, this year's freshmen competition has finally come to a conclusion. I declare the Freshmen Ruler of this year to be the student Changyang Xiang Tian who is an 8th Saint Force layer practitioner!"

The vice headmaster Bai En spoke in a firm voice, causing everyone to applaude and cheer. But as some of the 9th Saint Force layer students heard the new Freshmen Ruler was a student was at the 8th Saint Force layer, many of them couldn't accept that. However, they could only grumble out their displeasure. But Jian Chen's strength was something they could accept, some of them had even been dazzled by the way he fought, and his speed was something that not many people could dismiss.

"This year's freshmen are really too useless. In front of so many people that had reached the 9th Saint Force level, the final Freshmen Ruler ended up being a youth at the 8th Saint Force layer. This is really too embarrassing."

"That's true, today's freshmen were really too weak. Not only was the title of Freshmen Ruler taken by a person at the 8th Saint Force layer, I heard that the suntanned youth in second place was also someone who was only at the 8th Saint Force layer. I really don't know what these freshmen had practiced to the 9th Saint Force layer for."

The two people that spoke were seniors wearing the academy uniform, their tone were filled with a mocking voice towards those who had lost against the two.

Hearing the two students complain, another one of the seniors replied to them, "You guys shouldn't even say anything, it's not that those freshmen who reached the 9th Saint Force layer were weak, but it's because those 8th Saint Force layer students were stronger than them by a large margin. That suntanned kid had strength that could scare anyone. Don't tell me you guys didn't see how those 9th Saint Force layer students were easily thrown out of the arena. If it were us that were fighting instead, I'm sure that we wouldn't had been better off than the freshmen. As for that first place freshman, his strength was even more terrifying. Did you guys also miss how fast he was moving around and attacking? Even if it were us in that same situation, we would have a hard time trying to dodge his attacks."

Other than those two students, many other seniors of the academy were also discussing the matches amongst themselves. They had already been at the academy for so many years, but this years competition had left them speechless. This year's freshmen batch had many students who reached the 9th Saint Force layer, but no one had expected that the top two students would be 8th Saint Force layer students.

Soon after, Jian Chen obtained the Class 3 Monster Core as a reward. It was a deep red in color, and was bigger than the monster core than the one his brother had given him earlier.

Holding his hand up, Jian Chen could clearly feel the huge amount of power radiating from the core. The huge amount of energy in the core and the True Qi in his previous world had a very small difference, but as far as Jian Chen was concerned, the energy coming from the core was extremely huge.

Aside from the monster core, Jian Chen had also received a medal that was cast in complete gold with a decorative design written on it.

From what Jian Chen had heard, there was no information on the medal he had won, so he had no idea what use the medal was for. But as he was trying to figure it out, the vice headmaster Bai En explained to him, "This medal can only be rewarded to the first place winner of every freshman competition. As long as you have this, then you will be given a Class 1 Monster Core every month. Other than that, the medal allows the wearer to access the first 5 layers of the library."

"Every month a Class 1 Monster Core will be given, as well as free access to the first five levels of the library?" Hearing Bai En's explanation, Jian Chen's heart swelled up in marvel. Could it be that the students weren't able to even get a monster core every month? And who would have thought that the library would have a restriction imposed on it?

Receiving the medal, Jian Chen had already planned to ask his brother Changyang Hu about this later. He had already been in this academy for three or four days, but three of the days had been completely occupied by the martial arts competition. Even for the first day, he had barely half the day to himself, so he had very little time to find out more about the academy.

After Jian Chen exited from the arena, both Tie Ta and Tian Mu Xiong walked forward to accept their own prizes. After the ending ceremony, the crowd of students had already begun to disperse.

"Fourth brother, you're seriously amazing! You really did win first place in the competition; once father hears about this, he'll definitely be very happy about this." As the two walked towards his dorm, Changyang Hu kept chattering away happily with Jian Chen.

As the two continued to talk, Jian Chen started to laugh, as he couldn't help but feel the warm feelings he had remembered from his mother.

"If Mother found out about this, she would definitely be beyond happy." Jian Chen thought to himself.

In a flash, Changyang Hu and Jian Chen arrived at the dorms and entered Jian Chen's room. Changyang Hu impatiently asked Jian Chen, "Fourth brother, hurry up and show me the Class 3 Monster Core."

Looking at Changyang Hu's still excited expression, Jian Chen laughed and brought out the monster core from his space belt, handing it over to Changyang Hu.

Changyang Hu took the core into his hand and turned it around endlessly almost as if it was a treasured object. He clicked his tongue in admiration, "Fourth brother, you're seriously amazing, to immediately get a Class 3 Monster Core straight after entering the academy. Your older brother has already been at this academy for over 2 years, and the most I ever got was a Class 2 Monster Core. Moreover, I had to pay money for it."

Hearing this, Jian Chen could only chuckle, "Big brother, I've heard that you've already reached the peak of the 10th layer and will soon break through to the Saint level. You should take this Class 3 Monster Core." Jian Chen didn't regard the monster core as an important item, and although the Class 3 Monster Core would increase the rate of cultivation, Jian Chen didn't need it at all.

Changyang Hu was stunned at Jian Chen's words, but he quickly regained his wits and placed the Class 3 Monster Core back within Jian Chen's hands and said, "That won't do. This Class 3 Monster Core was something that fourth brother got after going through a painstaking amount of trouble. How could your big brother take something like this?"

Looking at the newly returned Class 3 Monster Core, Jian Chen smiled; he truly admired his big brother's actions just then. At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry that Changyang Hu would be like third brother Changyang Ke, and become an obstacle towards him.

Once again, Jian Chen placed the Class 3 Monster Core in Changyang Hu's hands, "Big brother, this Class 3 Monster Core would be best with you." This time, Jian Chen really wanted Changyang Hu to accept the monster core.

"Definitely not!" Changyang Hu's refusal came out strong and clear, without any hesitation. He handed the monster core back to Jian Chen and said, "Fourth Brother, this monster core should be used by you. This is your reward for being the Freshmen Ruler. This item is definitely not something your big brother would want from you."

Seeing how persistent his brother Changyang Hu was, Jian Chen could only helplessly take back the Class 3 Monster Core.

After that, Jian Chen began to ask his older brother a few questions regarding the affairs of the academy. It had taken 3 hours for Changyang Hu to carefully explain every single rule that Jian Chen didn't understand about the academy, increasing Jian Chen's familiarity with the academy. First was Kargath Academy's headmaster, who favored students that weren't from a noble background. If he found a noble bullying a commoner, the student would definitely not be able to escape from punishment. Regarding battles between nobles, he would turn a blind eye, as long as it didn't turn into a major deal. Other than that, he didn't care about them at all.

Also, within the Kargath Academy, one would have to reach the Great Saint level in order to graduate. Those who graduate had the choice to remain in the academy, or with the Kargath Academy's recommendation, they could vow loyalty to a kingdom and join their army. Those with a great amount of potential would be able to earn a higher salary with the academy's recommendation.

Within the academy, those under the level of a Saint would have the chance to receive a Class 1 Monster Core every month to use to help their cultivations. The students who were at the Saint Level and condensed a Saint Weapon would be able to earn a Class 2 Monster Core every month. Aside from this, these students would also be able to go to the forest 20 miles away from the Kargath Academy to hunt magical beasts for their cores. Although the forest wasn't big, it still took up around 10 kilometers of area. The magical beasts inside the forest were all set free by the academy, but most of them were generally low leveled magical beasts. Their attack strengths were amongst the lowest of the beasts, and receiving a serious injury was unlikely.

Kargath Academy bred these low leveled magical beasts for the students to practice their martial arts in a real combat situation, as well as to allow the magical beasts to adapt to the wild. The strongest magical beast in the forest was no stronger than a Class 2 beast, while many of the animals were just regular wild beasts who couldn't even measure up to a Class 1 magical beast. However, if a Class 2 magical beast were to appear, then the academy would send out a few experts to take care of the monster in order to prevent the students from getting hurt.

The forest was separated into three regions: the first region was full of wild beasts who didn't even reach the level of a Class 1 magical beast. The second region was a place where Class 1 magical beasts dwelled. The final region was full of Class 2 magical beasts. All three areas had been successfully sealed and blockaded against the other areas by the previous generations of the headmaster, so no one would have to worry about the monsters escaping from the forest.

The academy also had a library, which was separated into 7 levels. Inside the library was a great amount of books, with an abundant amount of information. Aside from books about the continent's history, there were also many secret training manuals for practitioners. Students who had not yet reached Saint level would only be able to access the first two levels of the library. The moment a student reaches the level of a Saint and condenses his/her Saint Force into a Saint Weapon, then he/she would be able to enter the third and fourth levels. For any level above the fourth, the only people who could enter were teachers, or students at Great Saint level.

By the time Changyang Hu had finished telling Jian Chen about the information regarding the school, it was already quite late during the night. Changyang Hu thus hurried out of Jian Chen's dorm, and ran towards his own dormitory.

Meanwhile, at the top of a tower that was situated in the center of Kargath Academy, the vice-headmaster Bai En respectfully stood in front of an office desk. In front of him, was actually the headmaster Jian Chen had met before.

The headmaster of Kargath Academy extended his arm and stroked his long beard. Indifferently looking at the vice-headmaster, he said, "Bai En, did you say that the name of the freshman who won the competition was a kid called Changyang Xiang Tian?" The headmaster's tone held a hint of surprise.

Bai En nodded his head and said, "Yes, headmaster, I found out that Changyang Xiang Tian is quite remarkable. He is only at the 8th layer of Saint Force, but can already defeat freshmen that are at the 9th layer. His attacks are not only aggressive, but also quite agile and nimble. It also seems that he has plenty of combat experience, which does not match up with the strength he should have. Even Tie Ta, who has a body with heavenly force, lost to Jian Chen in a simple manner, unable to even counterattack"

Hearing this, the headmaster furrowed his brows and asked, "Bai En, is what you're saying really true? Is Changyang Xiang Tian really that amazing?"

"Headmaster, everything I said is the truth." said Bai En in a firm voice.

The headmaster slowly rose from his chair and muttered, "It looks like this kid Changyang Xiang Tian is a bigger genius than Chang Bai said. He didn't use any sort of monster core or heavenly treasure, and was still able to reach the 8th layer of the Saint Force by the age of 15; how astonishing of a feat. To think that he also has an abundant amount of battle experience, something like this is unfathomable." Even the headmaster's voice carried a hint of astonishment.

Hearing the headmaster mumble to himself, Bai En also had an astonished look on his face. The fact that he had not used any heavenly treasure or monster core to reach the 8th layer by the age of 15 was a type of talent within the Gesun Kingdom that could only be regarded as something a gifted genius could have.

"Headmaster, it looks like this Changyang Xiang Tian has a limitless future." Bai En sighed.

The headmaster nodded his head and said, "As long as he can continue to grow this way, then the skill he displayed today will definitely develop into something greater. It looks like our Kargath Academy will finally be able to boast of a strong individual, as long as he doesn't die on the road to greatness."

"As long as he really grows into a strong individual of the Tian Yuan continent, then not only our Kargath Academy become well known, but our Gesun Kingdom's reputation within the continent would also increase. Right now, the surrounding kingdoms around us are getting more and more restless; after these 10 or so years, if our Gesun Kingdom doesn't have any strong individuals, then I'm afraid that sooner or later, one of the kingdoms around us will attack."

After hearing this, Bai En's face gradually grew solemn; the Gesun Kingdom was neither a big kingdom nor a small kingdom, but it had fertile lands that many of the surrounding kingdoms were envious of. If it were not for the 6 experts of Gesun Kingdom, then the surrounding kingdoms would have long since attacked them.

Bai En pondered for a bit, before carefully asking, "Headmaster, should we consider giving away Class 1 and 2 Monster Cores to Changyang Xiang Tian for free then? That way, we could improve our relationship with him."

The headmaster considered the vice headmaster's proposal for a bit, before shaking his head, "That won't be possible. Although using a monster core can be used to increase one's cultivation rate, there are side effects of abusing it. Changyang Xiang Tian is currently very young, we cannot allow him to become addicted to using monster cores. Otherwise, when he reaches the later levels, his foundation will be very shaky, which will obstruct his future progress. At his current age, he should quietly focus on self discipline; it would help lay down the foundations and increase his chance of success in making a breakthrough."

"Yes, headmaster. Bai En understands what to do now." Bai En didn't dare to act against the headmaster. Besides, what the headmaster had said made plenty of sense.

"Headmaster, how do you plan to handle Tie Ta?" Bai En asked.

"Tomorrow morning, bring Tie Ta to me. If he is willing, I will take him in as a personal disciple." The headmaster replied after thinking about it for a while.

"Yes, headmaster!"

After Changyang Hu left his room, Jian Chen sat on his bed and contemplated the new information for a while. Afterwards, he crossed his legs, and with the Class 3 Monster Core in his hand, he began to absorb the energy from the Class 3 Monster Core into his body.

Inside the monster core was the soul of a magical beast. The energy within was not only pure, but also fairly strong. According to what Changyang Hu had said, the moment Jian Chen started to absorb the monster core, then he would start to feel a long stream of pure and strong energy flowing out of the core. It would flow up through his arm, and slowly be absorbed within his body.

Jian Chen manipulated the constant outward flow from the monster core to guide the energy into his body. Constantly refining the energy into his body, he gradually changed the energy into Saint Force, before gradually absorbing it into his dantian.

Using a monster core to cultivate really did increase the cultivation rate by many times.. Because of the normal way of cultivation, one would normally have to absorb the World Essence slowly before finally converting to one's own energy, but that couldn't compare to the speed of a monster core. The natural Qi couldn't compare to the pure soul energy of a monster core; after all, the soul of a monster core was the purest part of the beast. Using the energy from a monster core, the speed of cultivation would increase by 10 times. For this reason, monster cores were extremely expensive, even if it was only a Class 1 Monster Core.

Multiple rays of light gradually appeared between the sky and land. The bright red sun finally struggled to climb into the sky, sending forth the soft and warm rays of sunlight. The golden sunlight with tens of thousands of rays of light illuminated the earth, as if the whole ground was dyed into a golden carpet.

At the same time, the Jian Chen who was sitting cross-legged on the bed slowly opened his eyes. His eyes showed a happy expression, and the corners of his mouth also showed a hint of a smile. After last night's cultivation, Jian Chen had received many gains, equivalent to a few days' worth of training. By absorbing the power within the Magical Stone, Jian Chen's cultivation speed had actually increased by 10 times. Right now, he could clearly feel that the Saint Power inside his body had increased by a ton. Based on his calculations, he wasn't far from reaching the 9th Saint Force layer. According to his current speed, at most it would only take a weekend's worth of time to reach the 9th Saint Force layer.

Of course, this was only Jian Chen's estimate. The exact values had to be tested.

If the fact that the amount of power that Jian Chen had absorbed from within the Magical Stone was 10 times more than the amount normally gained from cultivating was discovered by others, they would definitely be devastated from shock. Even though the Magical Stone could quickly increase the rate of cultivation, it was also far from achieving the frightening pace of 10 times faster under normal circumstances. The average person using the Magical Stone to cultivate would normally only increase cultivation rate by two or three times. Even if the person was slightly more powerful, his or her cultivation rate would only be raised by six or seven times. Considering the fact that Jian Chen's power wasn't even Saint level, the fact that he could increase his cultivation rate by ten times was definitely an extremely frightening pace.

Seeing the Magic Stone in his hands, although the stone's color didn't change at all, Jian Chen clearly felt that the Magic Stone had shrunk by a circle after being gripped in his hand for the whole time.

After leaving the dorm, Jian Chen directly arrived at the dining hall. This morning, the dining hall's breakfast was a bit more plentiful. Besides from a glass of magical beast milk, there was also some magical beast meat. Jian Chen had eaten quite a bit of magical beast meat in the Changyang household, and the taste was quite delicious. In his previous world, Jian Chen had never eaten such savory meat before.

In a flash, three days had already passed. Although the three days were not long, it still allowed Jian Chen to become more accustomed to the lifestyle and environment in Kargath Academy. Within these three days, other than Jian Chen participating in classes on the first day, he had spent his time on the other two days either cultivating in his room, or wandering around the library.

Due to the fact that the curriculum taught by the teachers of the academy revolved around how one should behave, what should be done in a dangerous situation, and a few skills one would need in order to survive out in the areas outside the cities, Jian Chen felt that these things weren't even worth learning. He was a wanderer in his previous life; with his experience, he could teach those teachers how the class should be taught.

With his battle experience and ability to live wherever in the world, he could teach both the teachers and the students by himself; as the teachers' experience with battle was not at all extensive, it could not even be compared to Jian Chen's.

The next morning, Jian Chen put on the academy uniform and headed straight for the library after eating a meal at the dining hall. The academy was very lax about their classes; if one wanted to attend, then they could attend, if one didn't want to attend, then that was no problem either. After all, most of the nobles and children of rich families had already been tutored since young, so they had knowledge that could rival some of the teachers, but they lacked the experience. Therefore, the classes were pretty much only for the commoners to learn from. It was very rare that a noble would attend a class, and if they did, then it was a minor noble.

Arriving at the first level of the library, Jian Chen took a few books, and began to eagerly read them at a table in the reading area.

Kargath Academy's library was expansive, and there was a generous amount of books on almost every subject. It was vastly superior to the library back in Changyang Mansion, and Jian Chen could find many books that couldn't be found back at home, helping him understand the world to a better extent.

Right now, the book in Jian Chen's hands was an introduction book to all of the magical beasts that could be found in the Tian Yuan continent. There were many different kinds of magical beasts; no matter if the beast could walk or fly, the amount of species amounted to over 1000. The book even mentioned that there were still many magical beasts left undiscovered, and for the magical beasts that didn't live within the deep abyss of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, then they lived in the endless ocean. That was an area that even the strongest of people had trouble traveling to.

As Jian Chen immersed himself in studying, a 16-17 year old female student suddenly came walking through the doors. The female was extraordinarily pretty, and she also wore the academy uniform. Her long and beautiful hair was carefully braided into tiny ponytails, causing her face to look even more gorgeous. But on her face was an extremely haughty expression; one look at her would reveal that she was from a noble family.

This female was actually Ka Di Qiuliu of the Ka Di Clan.

Ka Di Qiuliu entered the library and walked over to the bookshelf, before casually walking on over the reading area with a book in hand. She glanced over at the other students reading there, but the moment her eyes swept over to the area with the tables, she saw the back of Jian Chen, causing her to immediately stop where she was and stand there in surprise.

Ka Di Qiuliu focused onto Jian Chen's back, the light in her eyes never ceasing to flicker with emotion. Just thinking about how, a few days ago, she had been grabbed by the leg and casually thrown out of the arena without regard to her well-being, caused her to feel fury within herself. To her, that event was an unforgettable humiliation. The memory caused her face to boil over in anger before she snorted. No longer in the mood to read a book, she tossed it aside and stamped out of the library while gnashing at her teeth, "Changyang Xiang Tian, hmph, I'll definitely show you one day!"

But Jian Chen did not notice Ka Di Qiuliu at all, since he was completely focused on the book he was reading. No one would dare cause trouble in the library, so Jian Chen didn't bother keeping his guard up in it.

After Ka Di Qiuli left the library, she immediately found her second brother, Ka Di Liang, who was practicing his martial arts alone in the forest.

Seeing Ka Di Qiuli walkover, Ka Di Liang stopped his movements and laughed, "Third sister, didn't you say you were going to the library? Why are you looking for me here then?" In his heart, he still dearly loved his younger sister.

Ka Di Qiuli walked up to him with a grimace, "Second brother, did you not say you would help me teach Changyang Xiang Tian a lesson?"

Immediately after hearing Changyang Xiang Tian, the smile on Ka Di Liang's face disappeared, and a gloomy expression replaced it. He had been brooding over the freshmen competition for the past few days, and since he had been defeated by an 8th Saint Force layer student in such an ugly way, Ka Di Liang would never forget feeling that memory. That very kick was the single memoriam of his disgrace.

Ka Di Qiuli was furious as she spoke, "Second brother, Changyang Xiang Tian was in the library today; we should go over there and teach him a lesson!"

"Yes, of course; this time we will definitely be the winners. Come with me, third sister!" Ka Di Liang started to walk towards the library with determination. There was no way he would admit defeat to Jian Chen; he had blamed his loss the other day due to his carelessness. It was because he had held back that he had lost to Jian Chen; this time the high and mighty Ka Di Liang would not accept defeat.

Ka Di Qiuli started to show excitement. "This time, second brother must definitely give the brat Changyang Xiang Tian a lesson he'll never forget," she said, as she followed him to the library. Even though the two of them were both at the 9th layer of Saint Force, she knew that she was still no match for her older brother. And if Ka Di Liang were to lose against Changyang Xiang Tian, then there would be no way she would be able to win.

At the library, Jian Chen was still deeply engrossed with his book.

"Hello, do you mind if I sit down here?" At this moment, a crisp voice came from the side of Jian Chen. Although he was deeply engrossed in his book, Jian Chen's soul was formidably strong, and brought him back to awareness.

Reflexively turning his head, Jian Chen saw a 17-18 year old female standing right next to him. She wore an academy uniform, and had long black hair cascading down her shoulders. She had a refined, but kind smile, with eyes that looked curiously at Jian Chen. With her cherry red lips, there were people who were practically fighting each other to get closer to her. Although she was only 17-18, her body was so delicately refined that the academy uniform nicely accentuated her. Currently, the girl was hugging a thick book close to her.

Jian Chen casually looked at her before turning around to look around the room; he hadn't realized that all of the tables were so full that not a single spot was left to sit down.

Looking back to the beautiful female, Jian Chen answered, "Go ahead!" Returning his eyes back to his book, he didn't bother to look at her even though she was so pretty.

The girl looked at the engrossed Jian Chen with a strange look. Her eyes shined with a peculiar look as she sat down, "Thank you!" She said gently. Her voice was gentle sounding; anyone who heard her talk would feel comforted.

Jian Chen didn't hear her words however, as he was already too absorbed in reading his book again. In his eyes, he could only see the book.

The girl looked at Jian Chen with curiosity again, but she didn't say anything, and sat down with her book she was holding. She looked graceful as she slowly thumbed through her book, even though it was such a simple action. This gracefulness was an inherent talent of a noble, and suited her well.

The library was very peaceful. Even though there weren't that many people, none of them made a sound, as they concentrated on their respective books.

At that moment, a male and a female student came through the gates of the library–it was the siblings, Ka Di Liang and Ka Di Qiuli.

"Second brother, look, he's right over there." Ka Di Qiuli pointed at Jian Chen.

Ka Di Liang looked to where Ka Di Qiuli was pointing, and sure enough, he saw the all too familiar body figure. He looked on with disdain as he advanced towards him with his head held high and an arrogant face. With his head high and chest out, he walked towards Jian Chen with Ka Di Qiuli closely trailing behind.

"Peng!" The moment Ka Di Liang got to the table Jian Chen was at, he slammed his hand onto the table, causing a large sound to echo out into the previously silent room.

The sudden noise attracted the attentions of all the people reading, and their gazes all moved away from their books one by one they began to observe Jian Chen's table. Aside from a few people furrowing their brows, most people carried amused expressions.

Jian Chen knit his brows, and slowly lifted his head. He looked straight at Ka Di Liang, and said heavily with a hint of anger, "What are you doing!"

At this moment, even the girl sitting across from Jian Chen had furrowed her brows, and she looked at Ka Di Liang in annoyance, her face also carrying hints of anger. The sudden loud noise by her ear had scared her while she was peacefully absorbed in reading her book.

Ka Di Liang looked at Jian Chen with contempt, and haughtily said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, I, Ka Di Liang, formally want to request a duel. Do you dare to accept?" Ka Di Liang voice resonated through the entire first floor of the library, as if he were afraid nobody would be able to hear it.

"Duel!" Jian Chen's face showed a hint of disdain, and he lightly snorted, "I'm not interested, so please leave this area immediately. Don't disturb my reading; I don't have the luxury of wasting time on you!"

Realizing that Jian Chen was not seeing him as his equal, Ka Di Liang's eyes flashed with anger. Glaring at Jian Chen, he ground his teeth, and forcefully squeezed out the words, "Do you dare to or not!"

Jian Chen couldn't help but feel fury from Ka Di Liang's arrogance. Holding his own head up to look at him with disdain, Jian Chen said, "You were defeated by me before, what right do you have to demand a challenge from me?" Even now, Jian Chen's own tone carried a hint of arrogance that he had carried over from his previous world. This was a habitual attitude that somehow came out by accident.

Hearing Jian Chen's words, Ka Di Liang's handsome face went deathly white. Extreme anger flashed through his eyes, but he didn't dare to break the pacifistic rules of the library; otherwise he would had long since attacked Jian Chen.

Even Ka Di Qiuli, who was standing by her brother's side, was indignant. Glaring at Jian Chen, she started to jeer, "Hmph, you won't even accept my brother's challenge to a duel, what kind of man are you?"

Hearing Ka Di Qiuli back him up, Ka Di Liang's eyes brightened up and felt reenergized, "That's right; not accepting a duel, that's what a coward does. Changyang Xiang Tian, I'll be waiting for you at the fighting arena. If you admit that you're a coward, then don't come. Third sister, let's go to the arena!" After that, Ka Di Liang glared at Jian Chen before turning around to exit the library.

"Hmph, Changyang Xiang Tian, you better come; you're a coward if you don't show up!" Ka Di Qiuli cried out as she followed her brother.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, isn't that the new Freshmen Ruler from the competition…?"

"Seems about right, I heard that Changyang Xiang Tian is at the 8th Saint Force layer but he ended up beating several students who were a layer higher, how amazing…"

After Ka Di Qiuli left, the entire library started to buzz with comments. Everyone was starting to comment about the Freshman Ruler, Changyang Xiang Tian.

Even the girl who was sitting next to Jian Chen had a small look of astonishment as she looked at him. Her eyes were blinking rapidly from this development, and it was clear to see that she had not expected Jian Chen to be the Freshmen Ruler.

Jian Chen slowly clasped shut the book in his hand, with a face that was unsightly to see. After the two siblings from the Ka Di clan disturbed him, he was no longer in the mood to read. Plus, Jian Chen had no other choice but to accept the challenge after it was issued, otherwise the entire academy would look down on him. Although Jian Chen didn't really care about his own reputation, he was one of the symbols of the Changyang clan. Since his older brother wasn't around, he would have to take up the challenge himself to make sure the Changyang clan didn't get sullied. At the same time, Jian Chen didn't want Changyang Hu to be ridiculed for having such a cowardly brother.

Slowly standing up from his chair, he grabbed the few books he had with him and returned them to the bookshelf. After the books were neatly shelved, Jian Chen began to walk out of the library. At that moment, the entire library watched Jian Chen's movements.

"Hey, Changyang Xiang Tian!" As Jian Chen reached the gates of the library, the female who was sitting next to him called out to him.

Turning around in surprise, Jian Chen looked at the beautiful girl with an even look, "Yes?"

Hearing the even tone in his voice, the girl couldn't help but pout, but she didn't stay anything and instead walked up to Jian Chen and said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, are you really going to accept his challenge at the arena?"

"Of course!" Jian Chen nodded.

"You don't actually have to accept his challenge at all. The library banned any sort of loud noises, so those people have already violated the rules imposed by the academy. You could just go and report this to the headmaster, and he'll definitely penalize those two. In Kargath Academy, no one has ever dared to go against the headmaster's command," the girl said.

Hearing these words, Jian Chen started to look at the girl in a better light. With a light laugh, he said, "They've already issued the challenge, so I have to accept!" After saying that, he said no more, and left the library.

As the girl watched Jian Chen's figure disappear, her eyes quickly flashed. After some hesitation, she immediately ran to the table she had been sitting to return the thick book she had been reading back to the shelves, and ran out of the library, towards the martial arts arena.

After the girl left, the entire library was silent for a moment. Suddenly, a loud voice range out, "There's another interesting scene to watch. A freshman at the 8th Saint Force layer is battling against a person at the 9th Saint Force layer; anyone who doesn't watch it would be a fool." A male in his teens wearing the school uniform said as he directly ran out of the library

After both these people had left, the few other students that had been reading in the library also returned the books in their hands to the shelves, and left the library one after another, running towards the martial arts arena.

The school's martial arts arena was constructed in a corner of the sports field. Within it, there were five circular platforms, each one being approximately 20 meters in diameter. However, the insides of the martial arts arena was not that large, and could only comfortable fit 100 spectators. Otherwise, the freshmen martial arts competition a few days ago wouldn't have been held at the temporarily modified stages on the sports field.

When Jian Chen arrived at the martial arts arena, he only saw Ka Di Liang standing on one of the platforms with his arms crossed, with an arrogant expression on his face. Standing below the platform were Ka Di Qiuli and a few other students wearing the academy uniforms, who were all absorbed in deep discussions.

Seeing Jian Chen arriving from the distance, Ka Di Liang, who was standing on the platform, sneered at him and shouted, "And here I had thought that you were a coward and had not dared to come."

"Hmph!" Jian Chen snorted in disdain, and directly jumped onto the platform. He stood on the platform with his arms crossed, and coldly replied, "Come at me. I'll allow you to attack me 10 times. During these 10 attacks, I will not retaliate."

Hearing Jian Chen's arrogant words, the spectators below the platform began to cry out in shock, and began to talk amongst themselves in low voices. There were many elder students amid the spectators, and amongst them, quite a few did not have positive opinions about Jian Chen. They believed that during the freshmen martial arts competition, the only reason why Jian Chen had defeating Ka Di Liang was because Ka Di Liang had been too careless.

Ka Di Liang's eye glinted with anger. Anyone could tell that Jian Chen's words meant that he did not see Ka Di Liang as his equal.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, you're even more savage than I had thought," Ka Di Liang said forcefully.

Jian Chen looked indifferently at Ka Di Liang, and replied, "If you want to fight, then hurry up. I don't have the time to waste on you!"

"Hmph!" Ka Di Liang grunted, and sneered, "Why are you so rushed? Let's wait until everyone gathers here; I want everyone to witness the moment I defeat you." Because he had lost last time during the freshmen martial arts competition, Ka Di Liang had been brooding over it for a while, especially since Jian Chen had even kicked him in the butt. To him, this was an unforgettable humiliation. In Ka Di Liang's opinion, he always felt that the only reason he had lost to Jian Chen was because he had been too careless. Thus, he wanted to take this chance to regain the face that he had previously lost, and aimed to ruthlessly humiliate Jian Chen in return.

Gradually, the people surrounding the martial arts arena increased, and the population did not cease to increase either. From the distance, there were still many students heading towards the arena. This match had obviously been announced to the public by Ka Di Liang.

After only a short while had passed, the martial arts arena was packed with 200 or so people. Nearly everyone was excited to watch the lively scene. Amongst these people, Ka Di Liang's older brother, Ka Di Yun, also stood there, with a few people around his age standing next to him.

"Fourth brother, you can do it. Big Brother is watching you!" Suddenly, a familiar deep sound mixed amongst the other noises was clearly transmitted to the platform.

Hearing this, Jian Chen turned around, and saw his older brother Changyang Hu standing beneath the platform cheering for him.

Jian Chen smiled, and wordlessly nodded his head at Changyang Hu.

At that moment, someone banged on the table and shouted, "Let's make bets, bets! Whoever wants to wager on the fight, come here!"

"I bet on Ka Di Liang, 10 gold coins…"

"I bet on Changyang Xiang Tian, 20 gold coins…"

"50 gold coins on Ka Di Liang…"

People gradually started to gamble on the outcome of the match between Jian Chen and Ka Di Liang. Even those who usually attended class had came along with many nobles. Money was of no issue to them, so there were many people betting from 10 Gold coins to 10 Purple coins. Around 80% of the gamblers were betting on Ka Di Liang, and only 20% were betting on Jian Chen.

"Ten Purple coins on Changyang Xiang Tian!" Changyang Hu slammed down the appropriate amount of coins onto the table.

"I'll bet on Changyang Xiang Tian as well, 10 Purple coins!" Behind Changyang Xiang Tian, a soft and gentle voice spoke. It was the girl from the library who sat next to Jian Chen. She was obviously from a big clan; with every word she spoke, her tone was filled with a grandeur sound that sounded natural to her.

After the girl had bet 10 Purple coins on Changyang Xiang Tian, everyone else started to show expressions of surprise. Changyang Hu was the older brother of Changyang Xiang Tian, so his bet was easy to understand. However, this girl did not hesitate at all when she wagered her money. Despite their shock however, no student voiced out their questions.

On the platform, Jian Chen looked at Ka Di Liang with a strange expression and said, "We can start now, right?"

Ka Di Liang held an expression filled with self-confidence, and he sneered, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you personally declared that you would allow me to attack 10 times. You'd better not go back on your words."

"A nobleman's word is his bond. Just give me all you've got," Jian Chen replied.

TL: He uses a proverb to say this.

"How arrogant!" Although Ka Di Liang didn't quite understand the fancy proverb Jian Chen had said, but he could roughly guess the meaning of it. Without another word, he dashed at Jian Chen to start the fight. Since Jian Chen had allowed him ten moves, he wouldn't hold back and unleash his strongest moves.

Ka Di Liang quickly rushed in front of Jian Chen, and struck out with his fist that traveled through the air so fast, a whistling sound could be heard.

Faced with the fist, Jian Chen only took a single step back, and allowed the fist to stop short of him before it could make contact.

"Hu….how close….just a bit more and he would've been hit…"

"This Changyang Xiang Tian can't be too powerful. As soon as the duel started, he was almost hit. If any of those punches connect, I'm afraid that he won't get off with just some minor damages, and the victor would already be clear."

"This Changyang Xiang Tian's luck is quite good, to have dodged it like that…."

Everyone under the arena had thought that Jian Chen was merely lucky to have dodged Ka Di Liang's fist, and so only a few observers had realized the truth, causing them to start to look at Jian Chen in a new light.


	6. Battling Kai Di Yun

Seeing how close he was to hitting his target, Ka Di Liang felt a tiny amount of regret. However, he immediately went back into motion, and flung a kick at Jian Chen.

In a flash, 10 moves had passed without Jian Chen retaliating, and every single move from Ka Di Liang had been easily dodged. But to everyone else that was watching, Jian Chen had been narrowly dodging each move by the skin of his teeth, causing everyone watching, including Changyang Hu, to break out in cold sweat as they watched in anxiety.

Ka Di Liang's attacks were fairly fast and furious, but none of the 10 moves he had lashed out with even touched Jian Chen's clothes. Having not landed a single blow, Ka Di Liang was angry beyond belief.

Finally lifting a fist to block Ka Di Liang's fist, Jian Chen spoke, "10 moves have passed, it's my turn." Without waiting for a response, he aimed a kick at Ka Di Liang.

The speed in which his leg was moving was extremely fast; there wasn't even enough time for Ka Di Liang to dodge. By the time he tried to move his hand up to block, Jian Chen's leg had already smashed against Ka Di Liang's chest.

"Deng!" "Deng!" "Deng!"

The force of Jian Chen's leg caused Ka Di Liang to stumble backwards. As he steadied himself Ka Di Liang gave Jian Chen a dumbstruck look; although Jian Chen was only at the 8th Saint Force layer, Jian Chen's strength had far surpassed his expectations. It wasn't something Ka Di Liang would be able to endure.

In the last fight during the competition, Ka Di Liang had never exchanged blows with Jian Chen, so he never understood the true extent of Jian Chen's strength. It was not until this fight that Ka Di Liang realized that Jian Chen was stronger than he looked. In fact, based on the strength of the kick just now, Ka Di Liang was starting to doubt that Jian Chen was only at the 8th Saint Force layer.

Perhaps Jian Chen also wanted to end this battle quickly, because he didn't give Ka Di Liang time to even gasp before he quickly slammed his fist into Ka Di Liang's nose.

Ka Di Liang's face hardened as he stood back up, his entire body tried to stand against Jian Chen's fist before he tried to smash his fist against Jian Chen's head.

Jian Chen let out a cold laugh before blocking the fist with his own hand. Grabbing onto Ka Di Liang's shoulder with his other hand, he got into a horse stance, and grabbed onto him with his right arm. Grabbing tightly, he exerted some force and sent Ka Di Liang flying away.

In his previous life, Jian Chen had learned wrestling techniques from the Mongols, so he was fairly proficient at it. He had used it many times, and gained experience in it so much, that it was ingrained into his memory. Jian Chen learned many different skills other than just swordplay, and was fairly proficient at every single thing he put his mind towards.

Ka Di Liang's body was almost like a feather as he flew through the air, thanks to Jian Chen. He flew 4-5 meters into the air before finally falling back down to the arena.

"Phew…"

He saw Jian Chen to be weak, but somehow, Jian Chen had managed to accomplish such a feat with his delicate-looking figure. Likewise, the audience around the arena let out gasps of shock as they started to reevaluate their opinions about Jian Chen. Seeing the two fight it out like this made it so that no one would ever dare to underestimate Jian Chen in the future.

The faces of Ka Di Yun and Ka Di Qiuli both gradually turned quite ugly. The situation was far beyond what they had expected it to be.

"Heng! Changyang Xian Tian, you actually are a slightly skilled," Ka Di Yun said in a low voice, while angrily gritting his teeth.

Ka Di Liang stood back up pathetically on the ring with a cloudy looking face. He looked at Jian Chen's eyes with a gaze filled with poison.

"Ahh!" Ka Di Liang roared, focusing all his power of the 9th level of Saint Force in the center of his two palms. He quickly rushed towards Jian Chen with both his arms pressing towards Jian Chen's chest, and attacked.

Jian Chen sneered, and as he condensed all his Saint Force onto his palms as well, he suddenly threw his own hands towards Ka Di Liang's, resulting in a collision between both pairs of hands.

"Peng!"

As the sound came echoing out, Jian Chen and Ka Di Liang were stuck in a deadlock. Their fists had slammed so hard against each other, a mini shockwave pushed both of them backwards.

Jian Chen didn't stop there; his legs began to blur as he skillfully maneuvered to counter the shock. Looking at the rapidly retreating Ka Di Liang, Jian Chen immediately dashed forward and leapt up from the ground, both of his legs kicking out at Ka Di Liang.

Before Ka Di Liang could regain his footing, he was unable to block the attack. As he was kicked in the stomach by Jian Chen, Ka Di Liang was sent flying once more.

"Pff!" Hitting the ground, Ka Di Liang's face went white from the pain as he began to spit out some blood. He had started to take in heavy amounts of damage.

"Younger brother!"

"Older brother!"

Ka Di Yun and Ka Di Qiuli ran up to Kai Di Liang's side on the ground. Picking him up, they grimaced and looked at him with concern as they saw the small trickle of blood from the corner of Ka Di Liang's mouth.

"Younger brother, are you ok?" Ka Di Yun asked. His face was relatively unsightly to look at, although the situation was different from last time, since Ka Di Liang had been careless during the first match with Jian Chen. However, this second time was different. This time Ka Di Liang was fighting with Jian Chen using all of his strength, which was stronger than 80% of the other 9th Saint Force Layer students.

"Older brother, how are you feeling, are you seriously hurt?" Ka Di Qiuli asked with a voice full of concern.

Ka Di Liang was helped to his feet by his two siblings. Lightly shaking his head, he said, "Eldest brother, third sister, I'll be fine. I've only suffered from minor injuries." But even as he said that, his two siblings could detect a small tinge of weakness in his voice.

Looking at Ka Di Liang's pale face, Ka Di Yun grew angry. Raising his head to look at the elevated Jian Chen, he growled, "Third sister, you take care of second brother. I'll go teach that arrogant brat a lesson!" Leaving his siblings, he walked up into the arena to confront him.

"Eldest brother, you shouldn't…"

"Eldest brother, you can't…"

Ka Di Liang and Ka Di Qiuli tried to block his path, but unfortunately, they didn't reach him in time. The two siblings let out a sigh. No matter if Ka Di Yun won or lost now, the Ka Di clan would lose some prestige within the academy. This was originally a fair battle, so if they had lost, then they wouldn't have felt any negative side effects other than losing some face. But now that Ka Di Yun was going to fight, the whole situation was different. If news about a freshman immediately being bullied by some seniors straight after entering the academy was spread throughout the entire academy, then the three siblings would be mocked and ridiculed by the whole academy..

Jian Chen stared at Ka Di Yun as he leapt up onto the stage and sneered, "Are you here to avenge your brother?"

Angrily glaring at Jian Chen, he said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you really are strong. However, you've injured my brother; therefore, I won't let you leave this place unharmed."

The people around the stage all creased their foreheads as they listened to him. Their opinions about Ka Di Yun had now changed.

"Ka Di Yun, what is the meaning of this, do you plan to bully the Changyang clan until no one remains?" A deep voice called out as another person walked onto the arena. Turning around,Jian Chen felt relieved to see it was his older brother, Changyang Hu.

Changyang Hu stared at Ka Di Yun intensely, "Ka Di Yun, if you want to fight, then you'll have to fight me first."

Jian Chen felt a wave of warmth encompass his body as he listened to his brother back him up. "Big brother, you should head back down, I can handle this myself."

Changyang Hu shook his head in response to him. "No can do, fourth brother, it should be you that should head down. Ka Di Yun's strength has long since reached the peak of the Saint Force level. You are no match for him, so let your big brother help you."

After hesitating a bit from these words, Jian Chen nodded, "Then big brother, please be careful." Saying this, Jian Chen walked off the arena.

Ka Di Yun sneered in disdain as he watched Jian Chen exit the arena, "Changyang Hu, you're just asking for trouble, so don't blame me for anything that happens."

"Hmph, you're saying this far too early. Whoever the winner is and whoever the loser is isn't certain yet." Changyang Hu replied. He and Ka Di Yun had long since reached the peak of the 10th Saint Force layer, so if Ka Di Yun didn't condense his Saint Force into a Saint Weapon, then their strengths would be equal.

Ka Di Yun let loose a ridiculing expression as he looked at the disdain on Changyang Hu's face. Lifting his right arm, a large golden colored stream of energy started to focus onto his right arm and condensed into a great golden sword. The golden sword was quite large, and measured around 5 feet long and a single palm spread wide. Judging from the length of the handle, the sword was meant to be held with both hands.

Looking at Ka Di Yun grab the sword with both hands, Jian Chen's eyebrows furrowed together in concern. He had read up on Saint Weapons back in the Changyang Mansion. He could easily see that this was Ka Di Yun's Saint Weapon, and that this was also the first Saint Weapon that Jian Chen had ever seen since he first arrived in this new world. He had long since understood that a Saint Weapon was the condensed version of one's Saint Force, but seeing this with his own eyes, Jian Chen couldn't help but feel amazed. To think that the Saint Force could be condensed in such a way, it felt almost like a fantasy. This made Jian Chen feel extremely excited.

The moment the golden two hand sword appeared, everyone cried out in surprise and admiration.

"A Saint Weapon, he really did condense one…."

"So he already broke through into the Saint level…"

"Ka Di Yun became a Saint, Changyang Hu will be in trouble now…"

The distance between the peak of the 10th layer to Sainthood wasn't that far, but it was nonetheless very difficult to cross over. Within the Kargath Academy, the majority of the seniors had all reached the peak of the 10th Saint Force layer, but were unable to condense their Saint Force into Saint Weapons. If one didn't have the talent that surpassed a regular person's, then it would be extremely difficult for him/her to make a breakthrough. Within the Tian Yuan continent, it was not rare to see many practitioners to be stuck at the 10th layer until the end of their lives, without being able to become a Saint. From this one could see that successfully becoming a Saint was a truly difficult achievement.

Also, once one broke through to becoming a Saint, his/her strength would be increased by a large amount. A Saint Weapon wasn't one's only weapon; one could use his/her emotions to directly fuel his/her abilities in order to use attacks that far surpassed one's original strength.

Looking at Ka Di Yun's golden sword, Changyang Hu's face became extremely unsightly. Now that Ka Di Yun possessed a Saint Weapon, his strength could overturn the heavens; a person at the peak of the 10th Saint Force layer definitely wouldn't be a match for him.

"Big brother really did condense a Saint Weapon!" Below the arena, Ka Di Qiuli was pleasantly surprised, as she watched Ka Di Yun wave his Saint Weapon around.

Ka Di Liang had an envious look on his face as he stared at the Saint Weapon, but he too was pleasantly surprised. Both siblings had not realized that their eldest sibling had reached the Saint level until this moment.

Holding the Saint Weapon, Ka Di Yun's confidence in himself was boosted to unprecedented levels. As Changyang Hu's face grew darker and darker, Ka Di Yun's face became even haughtier. The pleasure Ka Di Yun felt in his heart was indescribable.

"Hahahaha, Changyang Hu, are you afraid now? If you kneel down and kowtow to the ground three times and call me your elder then I'll spare you. If you don't then…hmph, you'll know what the end result will be." Ka Di Yun laughed crazily, his tone savage..

Changyang Hu's face ashened as he listened to Ka Di Yun's demands. Snarling, he answered, "Dream on, Ka Di Yun. Even if you're a Saint now, I, Changyang Hu, will never be afraid of you."

Ka Di Yun looked at Changyang Hu arrogantly, and casually said, "Changyang Hu, what will you use to fight me with then?"

Changyang Hu angrily glared at Ka Di Yun, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Changyang Hu, your sword!"

At that moment, a sword came flying out from the audience below the arena.

Changyang Hu grabbed the iron sword while settling into a stance. The sword was not light at all, and was of a fairly long size. The silver white sword sparkled in the light in all 4 directions, and aside from the color, there were few differences between Ka Di Yun's sword and Changyang Hu's sword.

With his sword in hand, Changyang Hu's courage was bolstered, despite knowing that his opponent was a Saint with a Saint Weapon. However, at least he had gained some more power too.

"Changyang Hu, do you really think you stand a chance against me with a regular iron sword? Wishful thinking. Right now, I'll show you the power of a Saint." Ka Di Yun quickly sped towards Changyang Hu after that while carrying his double sword, as if it wasn't heavy at all. He swung his sword at Changyang Hu so fast, the air whistled as the sword traveled through the air.

Changyang Hu's attention was extremely concentrated on the Ka Di Yun's Saint Weapon. Quickly retreating before he could get hit, the sword narrowly missed him and only swiped at his clothes. A few strands of his clothes were sent flying through the air as the sword sliced away at the clothes.

After becoming a Saint, Ka Di Yun's strength became many times stronger than what it was previously, and couldn't be compared to Changyang Hu's strength, which was at the 10th Saint Force layer. With just the first blow, Changyang Hu knew how much danger he was in.

"Ha!" Halfway through another strike, Ka Di Yun didn't hesitate at all mid-swing. As he advanced closer and closer to Changyang Hu, his entire body started to emit an extremely strong Qi that imposed itself on Changyang Hu. Taking a swipe, Ka Di Yun tried to chop down Changyang Hu with his golden sword once more.

Seeing how strong the greatsword was, Changyang Hu could not parry the blow, as the iron sword in his hand would not be able to withstand the powerful force from the Saint Weapon.

The greatsword was extremely fast, and was far beyond what Changyang Hu had expected. Feeling the great sword in close proximity with his head, Changyang Hu didn't hesitate at all to duck and roll away from it. At this moment, he was unable to cope with the fight's intensity.

"Bang!"

The moment after Changyang Hu rolled away, Ka Di Yun's sword embedded itself into the spot where Changyang Hu had once been standing at. The strong concentration of energy that made up the sword left a deep crack within the ground of the arena, while smaller cracks started to spread out in all four directions to at least a meter away from the original impact zone.

Changyang Hu took the opportunity when Ka Di Yun was trying to recover from his strike to brandish and slash his sword at Ka Di Yun.

"Hmph!" Ka Di Yun snorted in disdain as he waved his hands. The Saint Weapon in his hands began to emit a magnificent light as it reappeared back into his hands and collided against Changyang Hu's iron sword.

A loud and crisp sound echoed throughout the arena as the iron sword met the golden sword, before it was sent flying backwards. The sword had been forced out of Changyang Hu's hands after the collision, causing Changyang Hu to be defenseless. Already his mouth was trickling blood as the sword had somehow managed to inflict damage to him.

Immediately, Ka Di Yun's foot lashed out and smashed against Changyang Hu's chest. His strength was high enough that it was able to send a strong person like Changyang Hu flying backwards and off of the arena. As he flew off into the air, blood came spraying out of his mouth as his face grew pale from the shock.

"Big brother!" Jian Chen cried out, his expression suddenly changing. He immediately dashed towards where Changyang Hu was and leapt into the air. While everyone was watching Changyang Hu being launched into the air in astonished stupors, Jian Chen had already moved into action. Right as Changyang Hu was about to hit the ground, Jian Chen came out from the side and caught him before impact.

"Keh!" On the ground, Changyang Hu started to cough violently, causing droplets of blood to splatter out of his mouth. A Saint's strength was far stronger than someone who didn't reach the same level; this was true even for Changyang Hu, who was at the peak of the 10th layer. Thus, he had suffered from serious internal injuries.

"Big brother, are your injuries serious?" Jian Chen tried to quell the anger within himself as he looked at his brother in concern.

Changyang Hu shook his head in anger as he fixed his attention at the smug Ka Di Yun on the arena. "I'll be fine, but I didn't think Ka Di Yun's strength would be this strong after reaching the Saint level with a Saint Weapon. As of right now, your big brother is no longer a match for him." Changyang Hu growled, his anger not dissipating at all.

"I'm sorry big brother, I was the one who got you involved." Looking at Changyang Hu's pale white face from his injuries, Jian Chen felt true guilt within his heart.

Hearing these words, Changyang Hu turned around and looked at Jian Chen. He furrowed his brows and angrily replied, "Fourth brother, what in the world are you saying? Do you not consider me your older brother?" His face grew dark as he let out a helpless sigh, "It's unfortunate, your big brother is quite useless. Up until now, I still haven't been able to reach the Saint level; otherwise, Ka Di Yun definitely wouldn't have been a match for me."

Changyang Hu's words shook Jian Chen's heart; tilting his head up at Ka Di Yun, his eyes started to flash cold for a brief second before disappearing. The disdain in his eyes wouldn't dissipate, however, and he immediately said emotionlessly, "Big brother, you should rest up for a second, I'll definitely get revenge for you." With that said, Jian Chen started to move towards the arena.

Changyang Hu's face immediately changed after hearing that and he pulled at Jian Chen, "Absolutely not. Fourth brother, you are not Ka Di Yun's opponent. Don't go."

Jian Chen gave an apologetic smile and said, "Big brother, please believe in me." His face exuded a fierce conviction, and he threw off Changyang Hu's grasp on him, leaping onto the arena.

"Heavens, what is he planning…"

"It looks like he wants to challenge Ka Di Yun. My god, he's gone mad!"

"He's only at the 8th Saint Force layer. To think that he wants to challenge a Saint like Ka Di Yun, he's only asking for trouble here…"

As Jian Chen leapt onto the arena, the audience surrounding them cried out in alarm; no one believed that Jian Chen would be an appropriate opponent for a Saint like Ka Di Yun.

"He-he really is a hot head. Ka Di Yun is a Saint who just beat a person who was at the peak of the 10th layer. How would he win against someone like that?" Under the arena, the girl who sat next to Jian Chen in the library muttered as she watched him join the arena. Her entire face was filled with concern.

Ka Di Yun watched Jian Chen leap up with a blank look, but he quickly regained his wits and snorted with laughter, "What's wrong, Changyang Xiang Tian, do you really think you can fight against me?!" Ka Di Yun never thought Jian Chen to be a worthy opponent; after all, he was a powerful Saint already.

Jian Chen responded coldly, "Is it wrong to think that I can?"

Stunned, Ka Di Yun started to laugh evilly as he smiled at Jian Chen, "Of course, it's definitely okay." Right now, Ka Di Yun was thinking about the best way to humiliate Jian Chen, since Jian Chen had humiliated his pretty younger sister, Ka Di Qiuli. during the freshmen martial arts competition for everyone to see. This had earned hatred from both Ka Di Yun and Ka Di Liang, for they both loved their sister dearly.

Jian Chen was in no rush, as he walked over to where Changyang Hu's sword was. As he weighed the sword on his hands, Jian Chen slightly frowned. The sword didn't weight past 100 pounds, but it was close enough to that weight. If it weren't for the fact that Jian Chen was at the 8th Saint Force layer, then he wouldn't be able to lift the sword at all to use it.

In his previous life, Jian Chen would frequently use a sword that had a blade two finger widths wide. With that sword, he had brought his swordplay to a level that he had been famous for. With this two hand sword, however, Jian Chen felt like one of his arms was bound behind his back, since it was very heavy. He would not be able to use the full extent of his powers, and just swinging the sword with ease would demand a large amount of his energy. It was a shame that with the exception of this sword, there was no other sword around.

With a small amount of hesitation, Jian Chen decided to forgo the giant sword and fight against Ka DI Yun barehanded. This way, he would at least have the advantage in speed and nimbleness.

Arriving at the center of the arena, Jian Chen looked at Ka Di Yun with an impassive face as he stretched his fists, "You make the first move, I'll fight against you bare handed."

Ka Di Yun's face narrowed; clearly Jian Chen was looking down on him by fighting bare handed. For an 8th Saint Force layer practitioner to fight against a Saint without any weapon while the Saint had a Saint Weapon, was a display of great humiliation towards the Saint.

Ka Di Yun's eye grew cold as he sneered, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you are far too arrogant." The golden sword in his hand began to disappear slowly into the air, "Let it be said that I didn't bully you. Come, I'll fight you without a weapon as well."

Hearing this, Jian Chen let loose a strange smile. Without wasting words, he dashed towards Ka Di Yun, and used his Saint Force to amplify his strength as his fist flew at Ka Di Yun's head, cutting a sharp whistle through the air.

Ka Di Yun looked at the first with a bored expression, before returning the blow with his own fist. The two fists collided as a golden light flowed out from Ka Di Yun's fist; only those who reached Sainthood would be able to materialize their Saint Force like this.

The moment when the two fists collided against each other, Jian Chen's fist suddenly spread out to become an open palm after the initial contact was made. His hand absorbed the impact so that the blow became as soft as a sponge, as he used Tai Ji Quan to force Ka Di Yun's fist to overextend harmlessly past himself. Ka Di Yun's arm was forced upwards in a weird position as Jian Chen twisted it. In a flash, the strength behind Ka Di Yun's fist dissipated away, as Jian Chen extended his other hand to chop down onto the joint of Ka Di Yun's arm.

"Kacha!"

The sound of a bone breaking could be heard, as Jian Chen dislocated Ka Di Yun's arm with a arm chop. Ka Di Yun let out a muffled and pained cry, as the pain in his arm registered within his brain, causing his face to go deathly white.

Right after his hand had dislocated Ka Di Yun's arm, Jian Chen did not stop moving. Both of his arms grabbed onto the entire arm and gave it a mighty twist.

"Ah!"

By this point, Ka Di Yun couldn't refrain from screaming anymore. Releasing a squeal of pain reminiscent of a wild pig, he felt as if his entire arm had been broken off. Ever since he was small, he had never suffered pain to an extent like this, and so in such a short amount of time, his face was drained of color, as his entire forehead started to drip with sweat.

Hearing such a desolate yet miserable shriek, the people who had originally been chattering away during the match went deathly silent. Everyone watched Jian Chen with amazement as they watched the inconceivable happen. This situation was the exact opposite of what everyone was expecting to see.

"Since when did fourth brother become this amazing? Just looking at this, Ka Di Yun will definitely suffer a lot by Changyang Xiang Tian's hand. However, even if Ka Di Yun doesn't use his Saint Weapon, he's still a Saint; his strength is definitely still greater than mine." Changyang Hu muttered to himself as he watched the match with a dumbstruck expression.

The moment that Ka Di Yun felt pain, he swung out with his other hand at Jian Chen's arms, while aiming his left leg at Jian Chen's groin.

Even though one of his arms was useless, Ka Di Yun was still able to launch

a counterattack. Even with this unsightly scene, Ka Di Yun had some experience with battles and tried to escape this situation.

Seeing a flurry of arms and legs flashing before his eyes, Jian Chen knew that he wouldn't be able to directly take the attacks head on. He helplessly let go of Ka Di Yun's arm, and used the Profound Steps to retreat. He managed to dodge Ka Di Yun's attack and circled around to his back, before using his Saint Force to amplify his attack on Ka Di Yun's back.

TL note: Profound Steps was mentioned earlier back in his room in the Changyang Mansion, it's basically him moving fast.

Feeling the strong wind behind his back, Ka Di Yun didn't hesitate for a second and evaded Jian Chen by diving to the side. However, even as he dodged, Ka Di Yun was amazed. No matter where he moved, he would always feel a wind blowing on his back; he wasn't able to keep up with Jian Chen's movements.

"Peng!"

Ka Di Yun was completely unable to keep up with Jian Chen, who smashed both of his hands into Ka Di Yun's back, creating a cracking sound as he was hit by a violent attack. This caused Ka Di Yun to stagger two steps forward, but since he was a strong Saint, he immediately steadied himself. However, his face had already paled, as he realized that Jian Chen had hit the same place twice with his fists. Jian Chen's strength could already be measured at the peak of the 9th layer, and despite Ka Di Yun being stronger than him in rank, he was the one being injured more. At that moment, he could only feel a surge of Qi and blood course through his body, his organs screaming in pain.

As Ka Di Yun steadied himself, Jian Chen had already arrived at his backside another time, and struck at his back with his right hand once more. Although the fist traveled at a speed that made it look like it was as light as a feather, the effect was anything but light. Anyone that had faced off against Jian Chen before would agree that Jian Chen's strength was more extraordinary than it looked.

Ka Di Yun turned around abruptly, his eyes were indignant with anger. For a strong person like him to suffer this much from someone who was by all rights weaker than him, his simple plan to humiliate Jian Chen was no longer as simple as he thought.

"Ha!" Ka Di Yun snarled in anger, as his hand started to glow golden with his Saint Force. The huge concentration of Saint Force condensed into his hand as he faced Jian Chen, aiming it towards Jian Chen's chest. Seeing Jian Chen attack with a seemingly light fist, Ka Di Yun prepared to take it head on in order to get close to Jian Chen for his own attack.

The situation turned into a critical point of the match, as both the fighter's attacks struck each other. Jian Chen's seemingly light and weak fist silently struck against Ka Di Yun's chest. Immediately, Ka Di Yun's own fist let out a muffled sound as it struck against Jian Chen's body, blowing apart a hole in the academy uniform, and revealing a tender white skin that would be the target of envy by many of the girls. But in the blink of an eye, the skin underneath became a pile of bruises after receiving Ka Di Yun's blow.

"Deng!" "Deng!" "Deng!"

After receiving a blow from Ka Di Yun, Jian Chen's face contorted in pain, and the color started to drain away from his face. And with the blow being enforced by such a huge amount of strength, his legs weren't enough to prevent him from sliding back, until he was a few inches away from the edge of the arena. At this moment, other than his paling face, Jian Chen did not seem to have any other problems, despite Ka Di Yun using his Saint Force to accentuate his attack.

Although Jian Chen was only at the 8th layer, because he had been using Azulet Sword Law to constantly cultivate his body since he was young, he had strengthened every single organ and part of his body to the utmost degree. So while on the outside, it seemed that Jian Chen's physical body was quite weak, his actual ability to resist and take damage would leave anyone flabbergasted. Even though Ka Di Yun was a Saint, without using his Saint Weapon, his regular attacks would not be able to seriously wound Jian Chen; at the most, Jian Chen would sport some small bruises.

On the other hand, while Ka Di Yun was standing at the same place, his face had scrunched up in major pain as his body began to visibly tremble from the pain he was feeling.

Before, Jian Chen's fist that seemed to be as light as a feather, impacted against his stomach and caused a peculiar feeling to be transferred over into him. The power forcibly entered his body and suddenly went berserk as it exploded within him, causing his internal body to go crazy from the pain.

Ka Di Yun's face became incomparably dark, as he used all the Saint Force within his body began to combat the power that was rebelling inside. Since his Saint Force was stronger than Jian Chen's, the foreign power within him was cleared away quickly, but the damage was done. At this point, Ka Di Yun was suffering from internal damages as well. The damages weren't very serious, but it would definitely impact his performance in the battle for the worse if it dragged on.

Ka Di Yun glared at the calm Jian Chen in front of him with a shocked expression. He hadn't ever imagined that he would be put in such a difficult spot as a Saint by someone who was lower ranked than him. Although he wasn't using his Saint Weapon, his strength was still stronger than those at the peak of the 10th layer, let alone the 8th layer Jian Chen.

At that moment, Ka Di Yun finally realized how hard it was to deal with Jian Chen, but it was too late to stop. Over the past few confrontations, he understood that without using the Saint Weapon, he would have a difficult time beating Jian Chen and might even lose to him. With the Saint Weapon he would definitely win against him, but that wouldn't be a bright situation. Besides, he had also clearly stated that he wouldn't use a Saint Weapon against Jian Chen. If he went back on his word now, then even if he won, his reputation would plummet to the bottom. After all, there were plenty of people watching the match, along with some seniors. Not only that but he was Ka Di Yun–Gesun Kingdom's elite elder son of the Ka Di clan; he couldn't lose face now.

Ka Di Yun was starting to reflect on his actions now, but then Jian Chen decided to charge at him with both his arms outstretched. Rapidly approaching, Jian Chen was using a weird technique to cause his moves to become unpredictable and made him look like a bolt of lightning. In Ka Di Yun's eyes, Jian Chen had become an after image.

Ka Di Yun narrowly blocked Jian Chen's strike. His right arm was dislocated, and he hadn't had enough time to pop it back into place, so he could only use his left hand to block against Jian Chen's attacks. Because of this, in face of Jian Chen's Saint Force, Ka Di Yun fell from his invincible position, and began to fight back earnestly now. He no longer belittled Jian Chen, and started to view him as an opponent of the same level.

The two people continued to fight at a fast paced speed; the battlefield became fierce. Jian Chen didn't dare to hold back since Ka Di Yun's strength was much stronger than his own. With both of them in a deadlock, the two could only defend against each other.

Jian Chen's attacks were getting stronger and stronger, while Ka Di Yun was finding it harder and harder to resist . Gradually in front of Ka Di Yun's eyes, all he could see were the palms of Jian Chen's hands; his eyes were getting too tired to differentiate between the after images of Jian Chen, and he could only rely on his listening abilities to tell when and where Jian Chen would attack.

Finally, Ka Di Yun became careless, and Jian Chen struck out at his left shoulder with a powerful strike. Ka Di Yun couldn't help but lag behind, as Jian Chen began to bombard him with a plethora of attacks. It was almost as if Ka Di Yun was in a very violent storm where he was battered from every angle.

"Peng!" "Peng!" "Peng!"

Jian Chen repeatedly hit Ka Di Yun on the shoulder with ferocious attacks, and even Ka Di Yun's strong Saint power could not bear the attacks. He constantly retreated. and a trace of blood trickled out of Ka Di Yun's mouth.

Seeing that Ka Di Yun was already driven to the edge of the arena, Jian Chen's eyes fiercely flashed. Growling, Jian Chen gathered the Saint Force into his hand and struck Ka Di Yun in the chest another time. This fist was a lot stronger than the last, and the moment the fist connected, Ka Di Yun fell from the arena down onto the ground below.

Jian Chen stood on the arena while breathing heavily. Since he was constantly using his entire strength, he had exhausted his supply of Saint Force, to the point where had had almost none left within his body. If Ka Di Yun did not accept defeat here and now, then Jian Chen would not be able to maintain his odds of winning for long.

The arena became quiet, as everyone stared at the lone figure standing on top of the arena. At this moment, everyone showed incomprehensible expressions. This had already exceeded anyone's wildest guess, and no one had thought that Jian Chen would win against a Saint. Most importantly, he had defeated a Saint while coming out almost unharmed. Even though the Saint didn't use a Saint Weapon, this outcome was no less surprising nor predictable.

At this moment, the arena was completely silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. There were over 200 people that were watching, but not a single person dared to make a sound.

"Big brother…"

A voice finally broke the spell of silence over the arena as the Ka Di siblings sped over to where Ka Di Yun lay on the floor.

As if awakened, everyone started to burst into noise, as if the seal of a pot had been broken. All around the arena, people were chattering away noisily with excitement and shock.

"Heavens, I'm not dreaming, an 8th layer student managed to beat a Saint. This is an unprecedented event in the academy history…"

"Is that Changyang Xiang Tian really at the 8th layer? Even a person at the peak of the 10th layer wouldn't necessarily be able to beat a Saint who wasn't using his Saint Weapon…"

"Changyang Xiang Tian's strength can't possibly be only at the 8th Saint Force layer. Who knows, he might have already condensed a Saint Weapon. Otherwise, how else would he be able to beat a student like Senior Ka Di Yun, a Saint…"

"Perhaps Changyang Xiang Tian used some sort of despicable method to win…"

Jian Chen didn't bother to answer any of the comments and jumped down to where his older brother Changyang Hu was. Looking at his brother's expression of extreme shock, Jian Chen laughed, "Big brother, I didn't dissapoint you. I've won."

Changyang Hu became emotional after hearing that, and hugged Jian Chen with both arms. "Fourth brother, you're seriously amazing! You managed to beat Ka Di Yun, a Saint. Your big brother truly admires you!" He said as he wrapped Jian Chen in a huge bear hug.

Jian Chen let loose a happy smile from the affection, before he gradually disentangled himself from his brother's arms, "Big brother, there's too many people here to talk. Let's leave this place first."

Changyang Hu unconsciously turned around to look at the crowd before nodding his head, "Alright, fourth brother, let's go to your room first. You definitely have to tell me how you beat Ka Di Yun, and then later tonight, I'll grab a few friends to come and celebrate!"

Jian Chen smiled happily at his brother, "Big brother, I can teach you how I beat Ka Di Yun, but let's forget about the celebration."

"Fine, I'll listen to you. Come on, fourth brother, let's go back to your dorm – it's far too noisy here." Changyang Hu started to pull his younger brother back towards the direction of the dorms.

"Changyang Xiang Tian!"

Before Jian Chen could take a step, a gentle and exquisite voice called out to him.

Hearing the familiar voice, Jian Chen blanked out for a moment before turning around. Looking at the speaker, he recognized the figure of the running girl, particularly the pretty girl who had sat next to him in the library earlier.

"Yes?" Jian Chen questioned, as he indifferently looked at the young girl, who was so beautiful that it would be easy to cause a city to fight over her..

The girl's voice was like a gentle stream of water as she laughed joyously. Slowly extending her arm out to reveal a purse, she happily said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you managed to win me 100 Purple coins, I really have to thank you." Her voice was extraordinarily soft, and also very pleasant to listen to; it was almost as if she was a skylark singing on a peaceful day..

Hearing this, Changyang Hu appeared to have suddenly realized something. He slapped his forehead in disbelief, "Ai ya, I just remembered. I put down 100 Purple coins; that was my entire savings and I didn't get it back. Fourth brother, you go on without me, your big brother has to get his money back!" And with that, Changyang Hu vanished like the wind, back to where the crowd of gamblers were.

Looking at Changyang Hu rush back for his money, Jian Chen couldn't help but laugh. At that moment, the girl slowly walked up to Jian Chen, studying his handsome features with her inquisitive eyes. "Hello! Changyang Xiang Tian, my name is You Yue. May I ask you a question?"

Jian Chen laughed and replied, "Miss You Yue, if you have a question, you should go on ahead and ask, but I can't guarantee an answer."

"No worries!" You Yue gently laughed before asking, "Changyang Xiang Tian, is your strength is really only of the 8th Saint Force Layer?"

Jian Chen hesitated for a moment before he nodded his head, "That's right, at the moment, I am currently in the 8th Saint Force layer, but I have a feeling I'll be making a breakthrough into the 9th layer soon."

You Yue was surprised after hearing his answer. With an astounded look, she exclaimed, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you mean you really haven't reached the Saint level?" Her voice carried some doubt; clearly, she didn't believe him entirely.

Noticing the disbelief in her voice, Jian Chen furrowed his brows and spoke with some annoyance, "Miss You Yue, I seem to have answered your question." Even though she was a beautiful girl that could cause countless cities to fight for her, to Jian Chen, she was no different than the average girl.

You Yue immediately waved her hands in an apologetic motion as she laughed, "I'm sorry, Changyang Xiang Tian, I'm just far too amazed. I hope you didn't take offense to what I said."

Her voice trailed off as Changyang Hu came running back with a joyful face and a fat coin bag. When he arrived by Jian Chen's side, he was tossing the purse up and down his hand as he snickered, "Fourth brother, your big brother is very wise. In less than an hour, I've won 100 Purple coins." 100 Purple coins was by no means a small number to a commoner and for those who only ate a simple amount of food in their lives; 100 Purple coins could feed a family of three for the rest of their lives.!

Staring at the coin purse in his brother's hands, Jian Chen started to smile and said, "Miss You Yue, if you have no other questions, then I'll be leaving first."

You Yue smiled back at him, "That's fine, I won't hold you up any longer. I haven't finished reading my book either, so I'll be returning to the library. Changyang Xiang Tian, I'll see you later!"

Soon after, Jian Chen brought his older brother back to his dorm and closed the door as they both walked in. Immediately, Changyang Hu impatiently asked, "Fourth brother, you've got to tell me what you did to beat Ka Di Yun, and how strong you really are! It couldn't only be at the 8th Saint Force layer, you have to be a Saint!" As he spoke, Changyang Hu's face revealed an impatient, excited face as he waited for an answer.

Jian Chen gently shook his head, "I'm not. Big brother, my actual strength should be not too far away from the 9th Saint Force layer. As for reaching the Saint level, I believe I'm still quite far away from it."

Changyang Hu looked at him with doubt, "Fourth brother, if you say you haven't reached the level of a Saint, then how did you beat Ka Di Yun?"

Laughing, Jian Chen replied, "Haha, how did I beat Ka Di Yun? Big brother, did you not see the match clearly?"

Changyang Hu's head drooped down in embarrassment as he blushed, "That is…er…fourth brother…actually, actually I wasn't able to see the match all that clearly. Could you please tell your older brother?" Although Changyang Hu had seen the match from start to finish, there were some things that could not be comprehended by eyesight alone. For example, Changyang Hu had not been able to comprehend what happened when Jian Chen struck at Ka Di Yun with a punch that seemed to be as light as a feather, but still managed to significantly damage.

Jian Chen sat on his bed, calmly looked at Changyang Hu, and said, "Big brother, the only reason a student of the 8th layer like me was able to beat a Saint like Ka Di Yun was because I relied on a technique to win."

"A technique?" Changyang Hu was still skeptical. He was no stranger when it came to techniques and skill, because in the academy, many of the teachers would often talk about their knowledge of their personal techniques. In a fight against equally matched experts, one would need to use extremely strong techniques in order to win, but such techniques weren't so easy to train in. Even if they did learn the techniques, only those with battle experience would be able to learn and perfect a technique to the point of being able to incorporate it into their fighting styles. What Changyang Hu really confused was that, not only was Jian Chen younger than him, but he has also only been at the academy for a few days now. Changyang Hu couldn't help but be shocked when he saw that Jian Chen had mastered such a technique.

"Fourth brother, where did you learn a technique like that?" Changyang Hu asked curiously.

Jian Chen shook his head sadly, "Big brother, I can't tell you that."

Upon hearing that, Changyang Hu had a look of sorrow on his face. The next thing Jian Chen had said though, brought his spirits back up, "Big brother, if you are willing to learn a martial technique, I can teach you."

"For real? That's great! Fourth brother, when can you get started on teaching me? How about now?" He was anxious to get started, and wanted to learn this amazing technique right away. Once he learned the technique, then it was even possible for him to challenge Saints who had condensed their Saint Weapons with his current power!

Jian Chen laughed, "Big brother, it would be better to start tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you in the eastern grotto outside the academy tomorrow morning."

"Alright fourth brother, it's a deal! I'll be at the grotto tomorrow morning," Changyang Hu promised. Although many of the academy teachers could help instruct one on learning a martial technique, he knew in his heart that fighting techniques were best taught by the previous generation in a clan. Techniques taught by the professors here would not be strong enough to overwhelm any of his opponents.

Afterwards, the two brothers chatted for a while, until Changyang Hu finally left. Because Jian Chen had used up most of his Saint Force to fight against Ka Di Yun, he was exhausted and slightly injured. Because of that, he decided to use the Class 3 Monster Core in order to recover his health.

Little did he know that, the whole academy was already in an uproar about how Jian Chen had beaten Ka Di Yun. There wasn't anyone in the academy who hadn't heard about it, and it shocked both students and teachers alike. Everyone thought this to be inconceivable, and an event of this scale was practically unprecedented in the entire history of the Kargath Academy. No one had ever heard of a Saint, who had been strong enough to easily beat a person at the peak of the 10th layer be beaten by someone only at the 8th layer; even if a Saint did not use a Saint Weapon, he/she could still easily defeat someone of the 9th layer, let alone a freshman who was only at the 8th layer.

The news of the fight between Jian Chen and Ka Di Yun soon reached the ears of the headmaster.

Within the middle of the central tower in Kargath Academy, the headmaster pondered about the situation while standing next to the open window. As his eyebrows knit together, he asked, "Bai En, is what you say true? Changyang Xiang Tian actually beat the Saint Ka Di Yun while he was only at the 8th Saint Force layer?" Even the headmaster couldn't believe it the first time, and his eyes twinkled in curiosity.

The vice headmaster, Bai En, stood respectfully behind the headmaster. In response to the headmaster's words, Bai En replied, "Headmaster, I've heard all of the students talk about it, but I'm not too sure of the exact details. But right now, this event has set the academy upside down; practically every teacher knows that Changyang Xiang Tian has beaten the higher ranked Ka Di Yun. Rumors have it though, that Ka Di Yun didn't use his Saint Weapon, and fought bare handed against Jian Chen."

The headmaster stroked his long white beard, in deep thought. "Since the rumors spread this wide, it would appear that it is true. Haha, it seems that Chang Bai has brought quite the complicated youngster. For a Saint to be beaten by an 8th later student, how inconceivable. Even if the Saint had recently broken through and didn't use his weapon, his strength should still be higher than one at the 10th layer. In all my years at Kargath Academy, I have never seen such a match where someone with a lower level won."

"Headmaster, what should we do about this situation? Sooner or later, the seniors of the school will search for the 8th layer student who beat a Saint, and become an inconvenience for Changyang Xiang Tian," said Bai En with a respectful tone. The amount of respect Bai En had for headmaster couldn't be measured, as it could even be considered as worship.

The headmaster turned towards Bai En and casually waved his hand, "Forget it, let them handle it by themselves. As long as they don't make a big deal out of it, we won't interfere. Besides, this should be a test for them; if they can't take everything thrown at them, then they won't mature into fine warriors."

In a blink of an eye, 3 days had past since the fight between Ka Di Yun and Jian Chen had taken place. Pretty much everyone in Kargath Academy knew about Changyang Xiang Tian now, you couldn't even walk a few steps without hearing his name.

In the past 3 days, Jian Chen had spent every morning teaching his big brother martial techniques in the grottos. Other than that, he spent the rest of his time cultivating; the Class 3 Monster Core had drastically improved his cultivation rate. He wanted to hurry up and reach the 10th layer so that he could rush straight into the Saint level.

Jian Chen had been very curious on how condensing a Saint Weapon worked, but according to book explanations, once the Saint Weapon is condensed, it replaced one's Saint Force. From that moment on, the Saint Weapon would be the origin for one's power. While it remains in the body, it releases Saint Force, and when one summons it, the Saint Weapon becomes one's strongest weapon. With it, one's attack would be multiplied.

A Saint Weapon was one's energy; if it were to break, then that person would lose all of their cultivation progress as well as receiving a fatal injury. If the break was fatal enough, then the practitioner would die. However, a Saint Weapon was extremely strong, it wouldn't break unless the opposing side was vastly stronger than them.

The next morning, Jian Chen opened his eyes signifying the completion of last night's cultivation. After 3 entire days of cultivation, the Saint Force inside Jian Chen had been strengthened and he estimated that he was long since past the 9th layer. He would have to test his Saint Force to find out whether or not he became a 10th layer practitioner or a Saint.

Getting off his bed, Jian Chen got dressed quickly before heading out of his dorm. The sky was still dark, and majority of the students were still cultivating or sleeping. The sports field was relatively peaceful since there were no people in sight. Only in remote corners did Jian Chen see a few other early risers practicing.

Passing the field, Jian Chen immediately headed towards the grotto. These past few days, Jian Chen was to spend some time every morning to teach his older brother some knowledge about the aspects of fighting. After all, in his previous world, Jian Chen was a wanderer and an expert for many years, so he had participated in countless battles. The amount of battle experience far surpassed that of the Kagarth Academy teachers. If actually compared, Jian Chen already had the qualifications to go teach the Kagarth Academy teachers.

When Jian Chen arrived at the grotto, he discovered that his older brother Changyang Hu was already waiting there, and was currently sitting on a tree stump. He had an aimless expression, as he randomly swept his gaze around his surroundings in boredom. As soon as Jian Chen appeared, he immediately stood up in excitement, and jumped up from the tree stump. He happily said, "Fourth brother, you've finally arrived."

Jian Chen smiled, "Big brother, why did you arrive so early?"

"Hehe, it's habit, just a habit. Fourth brother, let's start now. I spent the whole day yesterday trying to make heads or tails of the utilization of power you mentioned yesterday morning, but I was still unable to understand it. Can you re-explain it in detail to your big brother, one more time?" Changyang Hu asked in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Of course I can." Jian Chen smiled, and replied, "Big brother, I'll tell you about that tomorrow morning. Today, I'll personally demonstrate it to you." Saying this, Jian Chen picked up a skinny stick next to his feet.

"Big brother, watch closely." Saying this, Jian Chen took the branch and lightly waved it in the direction of a small tree, about the thickness of his wrist. When the branch approached the small tree, the skinny branch directly left his hand and silently pierced through the small tree, as if there were no obstacles at all. It seemed almost as if the small tree was originally only a mirage.

As he watched this strange scene, Changyang Hu started to have major doubts. At that moment, a rustling sound was heard, as the small tree started to split in the middle, the top half crashing down.

Changyang Hu opened his eyes wide and immediately ran towards the tree only to see the strangely smooth incision on it. It was almost as if a sharp sword had chopped the tree down. It was truly unimaginable since this fine cut done by a light slash of a flimsy tree branch had been enough to chop through the small tree.

Immediately, Changyang Hu's eyes switched over to the small tree branch in Jian Chen's hand. He ran on over and took it into his hands to look over, but not matter how much he looked at it, it seemed to be an average tree branch. As he brandished it softly, the tree branch merely swayed with his hand.

Seeing this, Changyang Hu's doubt grew even more. He really did not understand how such a plain looking tree branch could cut down a tree trunk the size of his wrist. He exerting some strength into his fingers, and the tree branch in his hand broke in half.

"Fourth Brother, how in the world did you do this? How can such a weak little tree branch cut down a small tree?" Changyang Hu asked, the doubt on his face could be clearly seen.

Jian Chen laughed, "Big brother, this only requires Saint Force to accomplish it. Don't say its because of the tree branch; even if it's a needle or a sewing thread, they both can cut through a tree branch with ease. Of course, my current strength isn't strong enough to do that."

"What, a sewing needle and string can cut through a tree? Fourth brother, do you have a fever or something? This can't be possible." Changyang Hu cried out in shock. He couldn't believe what Jian Chen had said at all since he had never heard of such a thing since he was born; to him, this was an impossible feat.

Jian Chen smiled from the start to finish of Changyang Hu's outburst; he had not expected him to react differently. But Jian Chen didn't bother to explain; when the day came where Changyang Hu's strength was strong enough, he would understand.

Jian Chen picked up another tree branch from the ground and said, "Big brother, you're still wondering how I could use a tree branch to cut through a tree right? Take another look, I'll demonstrate one more time."

Changyang Hu went silent as he became entirely focused on the tree branch in Jian Chen's hand. He didn't dare to get distracted now, just in case he missed out on some details.

Waving the tree branch in his hands, Jian Chen's eyes flashed once before the tree branch suddenly distorted in his hands, causing the bent parts of the tree branch to slowly straighten. In the way it had been warped, it was almost as if it had a life of its own, since it was moving in the same manner as a snake would. It slowly started to move around in midair–those who saw the sight would only be able to describe it as weird.

Changyang Hu's eyes grew wide from this strange display as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. With his eyes so wide, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He couldn't believe it at all; it was only a tree branch, and yet it had unexpectedly started to move around by itself.

Jian Chen's eyes started to emit an amazing light as he cried, "Big brother, please watch carefully." Jian Chen grabbed onto the perfectly straight tree branch and walked forward with it towards another small tree nearby.

His movements weren't fast at all; in actuality, they were very slow. Inching towards the tree, the moment his tree branch touched against the tree, it was as if the tree branch was being absorbed into the tree. Slowly, the tree branch went deeper and deeper into the tree trunk before it finally skewered itself through it.

This act stunned Changyang Hu into silence as he focused onto the impaled tree trunk. His mouth dropped open so much that an egg could fit inside. His eyes were filled with an expression of disbelief.

"Fourth brother, how did you do that?" Changyang Hu shivered in awe. Even his heart was violently pulsing as his eyes were still planted on the tree.

With a faint smile, Jian Chen answered, "Big brother, it's actually not that hard to do this. As long as you harmonize your Saint Force with the tree branch, then even though it's just a normal tree branch, it will turn into a sharp weapon. If one's strength is strong enough, then the tree branch can cut as easily as an iron sword."

"To harmonize the Saint Force and the tree branch…" Changyang Hu's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he muttered. Immediately, he grabbed a tree branch on the floor and following Jian Chen's instructions, he began to infuse the tree branch slowly with his Saint Force.

"Peng!"

At the very moment when his Saint Force made contact with the tree branch, the tree branch violently exploded and sent pieces of it flying throughout the air.

"Big brother, your Saint Force is excessively fierce, so the frail tree branch wasn't able to bear it. Also, you're not proficient enough to control your Saint Force to a fine level yet. Remember, when you harmonize the Saint Force into the tree branch, you must make sure to transform the Saint Force into a soft type of energy, not a violent one." Jian Chen instructed.

Hearing that, Changyang Hu became puzzled, "Fourth brother, how does one make their Saint Force become a soft type of energy?"

"Turning the Saint Force into a soft type of energy is merely just a different way of using it, that's all. Trying to explain this mystery anymore would be useless since only you can understand yourself. Big brother, starting from today, whenever you have spare time, try to harmonize the tree branch with your Saint Force. This way, it'll also strengthen your Saint Force. In the future if you can reach the level I showed you today, it'll bring you many good benefits when you cultivate." Jian Chen explained, almost as if he was a teacher instructing his students.

However, Jian Chen knew that if Changyang Hu wanted to accomplish what he had just demonstrated, trying to make a frail tree branch strong enough to pierce through a small tree in such a small time, it would definitely not be accomplished in such a short amount of time. This required a high mastery of one's Saint Force, and without a sufficient amount of practice, Changyang Hu would definitely not be able to harmonize the two together. Having a wooden tree branch harden into a sharp weapon like an iron sword was not simple at all. Infusing an iron sword with Saint Force would be easier, for example, but while an iron sword could support a larger amount of Saint Force, a tree branch could not, and required a gentle control.

Changyang Hu nodded, and after some contemplation, once again picked up the branch to try again. However, without exception, every single one of his attempts resulted in failure; not a single time did he succeed. He was completely unable to merge the Spirit Force into the tree branch. Every time his inner Spirit Force approached the tree branch, the branch would explode, unable to bear his overly fierce and intense Spirit Force.

Jian Chen stood on a side and watched Changyang Hu practice, and at the same time, he continued to instruct his brother. They continued all the way until the sun had risen above them. Only then did Jian Chen leave the grotto, leaving Changyang Hu alone as he continued to try without stopping; next to him, the ground already had a huge pile of broken tree branches.


	7. Incoming trouble

The sun was out as Jian Chen walked across the sports field, where quite a few students were already exercising. Sparing a glance at those students, Jian Chen proceeded to move on towards the library. During the past 3 days, Jian Chen was constantly cultivating his Saint Force and did not have the time to go to the library at all. In Jian Chen's eyes, the only thing the academy had to offer that really attracted him was the library. When it came to the classes taught by the teachers, Jian Chen didn't have a single speck of interest, and he personally felt that it was a waste of time. The teachers didn't have anything worthwhile to teach him, but the library did. After all, the library had records of everything that had happened on the Tian Yuan continent.

"Hey look, isn't that Changyang Xiang Tian? I heard he beat the Saint, Ka Di Yun, while he was only at the 8th Saint Force layer…"

"It is, it is! I even watched Changyang Xiang Tian fight in the freshmen competition, but I didn't get a chance to see him fight against Ka Di Yun, what a great shame…"

On the sports field, two males who saw Jian Chen were pointing from afar, while looking at him with a huge amount of respect.

"Wow, Changyang Xiang Tian is so cool and so strong. For him to beat the Saint, Ka Di Yun, while at the 8th Saint Force layer; he really is my idol…" Another first year minor noble girl cried, as her eyes sparkled with emotions.

More and more people started to gather on the field. As Jian Chen walked across the sports field, many of the surrounding people started to notice him. Ever since he had beaten Ka Di Yun three days ago, his name had spread around the academy in a mere few hours, and his reputation had skyrocketed to the point where even the teachers of Kargath Academy knew him by name.

Jian Chen quickly crossed the field into a shady area which would lead him to the library. Because there weren't many people at the library, the path towards the library was fairly serene and quiet. With almost no people in sight, all Jian Chen could see was the scenery of nature, as the wind scattered countless leaves into the air with a rustling sound.

Just then, the shadows of a few people suddenly appeared in front of Jian Chen. It was a group of four people who were laughing and talking amongst themselves, each one of them looking to be around ** years old. A simple look at their school uniforms could identify them as students of the academy as well.

Jian Chen didn't pay any attention to the group of students in front of him, and proceeded to walk past them. But as he just crossed them, the four students suddenly stopped talking, and then quickly surrounded Jian Chen.

Stopping, Jian Chen looked at the students surrounding him and noted that they were all seniors. With a cold smile, he asked, "Dear seniors, what is the meaning of this?"

The four students stood tall and proud as they circled Jian Chen before one of them spoke up.

"Kid, you look unfamiliar, you must be a freshmen." The one in front of Jian Chen smiled with an unfriendly stare at him.

Jian Chen did not show any emotion as he stared at the speaker, speaking to his face, he gave a faint smile, "That's right, this one here is a freshman. What do these seniors want with a freshman like me?"

Hearing this, the senior chuckled, "If you want to live peacefully at Kargath Academy, then it's important that you have people like us protecting you. But if you want our protection, then you need to pay us. Since you're a freshman, then you just need to pay us 10 Purple coins; how about it, a good deal right?" The student had a confident smile on his face; in his mind, he had already intimidated Jian Chen. To him, Jian Chen was smaller, and therefore weaker in terms of strength, and he felt that he had definitely overpowered him already. He was confident in his skills as well, since he had already pulled this off many different times, making him an experienced veteran. If he had met a stronger student, then of course he would have thought twice before pulling this scam off, but Jian Chen didn't seem like a strong student, so this would definitely be a total success; resistance would be futile.

If Jian Chen was just another commoner student, then the four students would not dare extort a protection fee from Jian Chen if they wanted to remain in the academy. After all, all the upperclassmen in Kargath Academy knew that the headmaster always sided with the commoners of the academy. But these four students have been living in the academy for some time now, and they could tell which student was a commoner and which student was a noble. So when they saw Jian Chen, they could clearly tell that Jian Chen was a noble, and therefore dared to extort him for money.

Hearing him, Jian Chen internally snorted; he hadn't thought that people would try to collect protection fees from him.

"Seniors, I am very sorry, but I will have to refuse your protection," Jian Chen stated. Before they could even respond, he shouldered his way past the older students and resumed to walk towards the library once more.

Jian Chen's actions caused the four students to be startled. This situation had gone against their expectations, and none of them had expected to see Jian Chen so straightforwardly decline their protection.

The four students immediately turned towards Jian Chen, who was walking away from them. Their eyes flashed dangerously. The one student who had his shoulder pushed aside snarled, while his face turned unsightly.

"Motherf*cking brat, stop right there!" He yelled angrily. Stomping towards him, he immediately cut Jian Chen off from his path, as the other 3 followed him and formed the circle, once more confining Jian Chen in the middle.

"You dared to knock against me, are you tired of living?" The initial speaker cried before fiercely reaching out to slap Jian Chen across the face with his palm.

Seeing the hand approach his face, Jian Chen's blank stare instantly became sharp, and his eyes flashed with a deep coldness. He lifted his own right hand up to block the incoming hand, so quickly that the other students couldn't react in time. After intercepting that student's hand that was halfway to his face, Jian Chen lashed out with his foot, and his kick connected with the student's chest. With a small gasp, the student was sent flying backwards, before he heavily fell down onto the ground some distance away.

The situation had suddenly escalated, surprising the other 3 students. None of them would have thought that their previously easy target to bully would suddenly become like this. Before they could even react, Jian Chen had kicked their companion across the place.

But they soon regained their wits and started to sweat. Without even needing to discuss it amongst themselves, they all concluded that they needed to dispose of Jian Chen.

Although they knew Jian Chen's strength wasn't normal, these four students had run rampant in Kargath Academy and were not afraid of him. Even if Jian Chen was that strong, the four of them combined could take him on, so they had nothing to fear. Not only that, but they all had strong clans backing them up, thus, they had a strong shield with them throughout the entire academy.

Sensing that the three other students were exuding out their Saint Force, Jian Chen looked at them with a hint of disdain. The moment the three prepared to fight, the levels of their Saint Force had been revealed to him; the three of them were roughly at the 10th layer of Saint Force.

The three went into motion very quickly, and in a blink of an eye, they were in front of Jian Chen. However, at the crucial moment, Jian Chen's body swayed and dodged each one of their attacks.

While the 3 attacks failed to make contact, Jian Chen didn't wait for them to recover, and immediately slammed his fist into one of the students' forehead so quickly that none of them could react.

"Peng!" The student who had his forehead hit immediately fainted onto the floor. At the same time, Jian Chen's right leg kicked one of the other students in the chest.

Following the dull thud, because the youth had long been prepared, he managed to endure and only stumbled back a few steps after receiving the kick from Jian Chen, and quickly steadied himself. Despite that, his complexion had turned pale as the two huge forces of energy hidden in Jian Chen's kick had jolted his internal organs. Furthermore, faint strands of Saint Force had also flowed through Jian Chen's leg into the youth's body, wreaking havoc among his internal organs.

Just as the youth had stabilized himself, Jian Chen's second leg had already once again kicked out. Leaving behind afterimages in the air, the leg landed onto the chest of the youth once again. Moreover, the second kick landed perfectly on the same spot as the first, beautifully superimposing themselves on each other.

Having received two heavy hits in a row on the same spot, the damage the youth suffered was not as simple as adding one plus one. When Jian Chen's second kick landed on the youth's chest, even if he had the strength of a 10th layer Saint Force, he would still suffer serious injuries. Waves of acute pain emitted from the vital organs within his body, instantly turning the youth's face white. His internal Qi was also blocked, causing him to have extreme difficulty breathing. He staggered back a few steps before one last unsteady step brought him crashing to the ground, and left him unable to stand back up again.

Seeing Jian Chen effortlessly dispatch a comrade who had a strength comparable to his own in the blink of an eye, the remaining youth's complexion changed. The foot that was just about to rush towards Jian Chen suddenly stopped in its place, it was as if the soles of his feet grew roots which extended deep into the ground. The youth did not dare to take a step forward. Eyes filled with vigilance, the youth stared at Jian Chen with an expression that had lost the smugness from before, and was instead now filled with an intense concentration.

Jian Chen's calm gaze turned to glance at the youth, the corners of his mouth betraying traces of a sneer. Without a word, he turned and left towards the direction of the library.

After Jian Chen left, the two youths who had been beaten to the ground by Jian Chen raggedly crawled up from the ground, eyes seething with a poisonous hatred as they bore holes into Jian Chen's back. One of them grumbled in a low voice, "Who is he, to be so strong that even all of us together were far from his match? Is this really a new student who had enrolled this year? How can he be so strong?"

"Who cares who he is; since he dared to offend us, we absolutely cannot forgive him." In a furious tone, another person also cursed. His tone was also somewhat weak, as if he was gasping for breath. This was the youth that had been kicked twice by Jian Chen; presently, his internal organs had already received a serious jolt. If it were not for the fact that his strength was originally above that of Jian Chen's, he wouldn't even have the strength to stand at this point.

Immediately, the spared student ran over to the fallen two students. Concerned, he asked the pale youth that Jian Chen had kicked twice, "Luo Yun, are you alright?"

The student named Luo Yun nodded his head and spoke with a weak voice, "I'll be fine after a few days of cultivation." Turning around, he asked the other injured student and whispered, "Karl, you can find information around the academy faster than us; find out what that brat's name is then have Master Cheng sort him out!"

Hearing his friend, Karl thought for a second before responding, "There's no need to, I think I already know who he is."

The other two student's face lit up as Luo Yun said, "That's great then, Karl, who is he?"

"In this years annual Freshmen Competition, there was an unusually strong competitor, the very same one that beat the Saint, Ka Di Yun, while being an 8th Saint Force layer practitioner. I think he's that person." Karl's face grew dark as he said it.

As the two students heard Karl, their faces immediately changed. Looking at each other, Luo Yun said, "Could he really be that Changyang Xiang Tian?"

Karl nodded his head, "It's very possible. Within the newest group of freshmen, only Changyang Xiang Tian could beat me. If he really is Changyang Xiang Tian, then we can't even be considered his opponents on any reasonable level if he can really beat that Saint, Ka Di Yun. Even if he didn't use his Saint Weapon, that's still enough proof of Changyang Xiang Tian's strength."

"Hmph, even if he really is Changyang Xiang Tian, he still dared to cross my path. I definitely won't let him have a peaceful time at this academy," spoke the first person who had been attacked by Jian Chen.

Luo Yun's white face started to sneer as he growled, "That's good, our Luo clan's young master had been asking around for news about Changyang Xiang Tian recently. If he hears about this, the young master will be happy. It's a pity that we didn't know where he was for the past few days; after searching for him, who knew that he would coincidentally just show up here and now?"

"Luo Yun, you go find the young master of your Luo Clan, Chen Feng and I will call out master Cheng. I doubt that Changyang Xiang Tian would be a match for master Cheng." Karl growled.

"Fine, we'll all do what we need to, but I suggest that we leave one person behind to continue observing Changyang Xiang Tian. Since the academy is so large, if Changyang Xiang Tian decides to hide, we'd never be able to find him," Luo Yun proposed.

Karl nodded his head before turning to his friend behind him, "Chen Feng, you stay here and observe him; I'll go find master Cheng."

"No problem!" Chen Feng promised without hesitation.

After the tasks had been split up, Chen Feng left to trail Jian Chen, while the two other students picked up the still unconscious one and left to do their own task.

Within the library, Jian Chen sat down at a nearby table with two books and began to eagerly read.

Because the day was still early, the library was very empty and quiet. Aside from Jian Chen, there was only a middle aged female janitor nearby bustling around.

The woman was around 40 years old with an average appearance. Since she had no talent in cultivation, she was only at the 6th Saint Force layer, even though she was already 40. Even the weakest student in Kargath Academy was stronger than her.

The woman tilted her head up to look at the studying Jian Chen, and although she didn't know his name, Jian Chen had left a deep impression on her. Aside from the past 3 days, Jian Chen had always been the first student to enter the library, and was always studying for the whole day. There were even some days where he didn't eat lunch to continue reading. The janitor lady had already been serving the academy for many years, but Jian Chen had been the very first student she had ever seen that was so hardworking.

"What a hardworking child." She had muttered to herself as she set out to do her tasks.

In a large room, a youth around 20 years old stood in the middle of the room with his eyes closed. His body was positioned in a very strange way, and like a log, he just stood there without moving a single inch.

"Dong dong dong!"

At that moment, a muffled knock was heard from the other side. At the same time, the youth with the closed eyes began to slowly open them and maintaining his strange posture, he stared at the door, "Who is it!" He called out.

"My lord, it's me, Luo Yun." Came the voice from outside.

"Enter!" He stated.

The door opened, allowing the 20 year old man to see one of the four students that was beaten up by Jian Chen–Luo Yun.

Luo Yun looked at the weirdly positioned youth without batting an eye, as if this wasn't a strange occurrence. That was because this weird position was actually the Luo Clan's method of cultivation.

In the Tian Yuan continent, there weren't many training manuals recorded. Among the few of them were cultivation meditation, and even less people had mastered a new position to cultivate in. The Luo Clan was definitely the latter and would put their bodies into a position unique to them in order to maximize their cultivation.

Luo Yun walked over to the other youth and stooped over in respect, "Master, for the past few days you've been searching for the whereabouts for Changyang Xiang Tian; I've just recently found and met him." Although Luo Yun had a great standing within his clan, in front of this youth, even he would not dare to be arrogant. That was because this youth was Luo Jian, the first son of the clan leader of the Luo Clan. Along with the loving affection from the clan leader, he was deemed to be the future successor of the Luo Clan, and so Luo Yun had wanted to curry favor with him.

"You've found Changyang Xiang Tian!" Upon hearing that, Luo Jian's eyes brightened up. Noticing Luo Yun's pale face, Luo Jian's eyes trailed down Luo Yun's shirt to see the single footprint on his chest. With a haughty voice, Luo Jian said, "Seeing you in such a sorry state, it would appear that this Changyang Xiang Tian forced you to suffer quite a bit."

Luo Yun's face grew angry as he spoke, "What the lord says is correct; I just recently saw Changyang Xiang Tian and politely asked him to come visit my lord. But that Changyang Xiang Tian was completely outrageous and arrogant beyond belief. Not only that, but he is extremely violent, and most importantly, he did not care for you at all. He said…he said that the lord…the lord is…" Luo Yun started to trail off from hesitation.

Luo Jian scowled, "Don't just stand there and stutter, what did Changyang Xiang Tian say about me?!"

Luo Yun's eyes flashed with an indignant color as he hesitated for one last time. With a spurt of courage, he cried, "Changyang Xiang Tian said that the master wasn't worth a fart, and throwing a shoe at him would not be worth the effort!"

"What!" Luo Jian's face grew just as angry as his emotions. Although the Luo Clan was not extremely influential within the Tian Yuan continent, within the Gesun Kingdom, they were one of the most prestigious clans with a 200 year old history. In the Gesun Kingdom, the amount of clans that could beat them in power could be counted on one's hands. When it came to the successor of the Luo Clan, it can be said that Luo Jian was a noble of extremely high standards that even the crowned prince and princess of the kingdom could be considered to be on the same footing as he was. He didn't think that within the Kargath Academy there would be an unknown freshman that would dare to be so egotistical. In his entire life, he had never seen someone so arrogant towards him.

Luo Jian's stare grew cold towards Luo Yun, "He really said this?" The amount of anger was hardly being concealed by Luo Jian's tone.

Seeing Luo Jian's reaction, Luo Yun was secretly delighted, however, he quickly regained himself and said, "Yes my lord, what Luo Yun says is true. I wouldn't dare lie to you; this Changyang Xiang Tian is truly too arrogant. He never saw you as anyone worthwhile, and even dared to spout out arrogant words. If we do not teach him a lesson, then I fear that the lord will lose face and be the target of ridicule within the academy."

The more Luo Yun spoke, the angrier Luo Jian became. Standing to his feet, he growled, "Where is Changyang Xiang Tian? I want you to bring me to him, and if he truly doesn't see me as someone worthwhile, than I shall see how strong he is."

"Yes, of course! Please follow me my lord." Luo Yun exited the room and brought the angry Luo Jian out of the room with him towards the library.

At the same time within one of the rooms in Kargath Academy, the respectul Karl brought another 20 year old youth out and towards the library.

As they passed through the sports field, a few seniors noted the group with looks of surprise, their comments could be heard from all directions.

"Ai…isn't that person walking over there Lord Cheng? He hasn't been seen around the academy for over a year already, what wind blew him here today?" A senior around the same age as him said in surprise.

"I've heard that a year ago, Lord Cheng had already reached the middle levels of Sainthood, so there's no telling how strong he is now."

"Lord Cheng is definitely the genius of Kargath Academy. He had condensed a Saint Weapon at the age of 19 and became a Saint. At the age of 20, he then reached the middle levels of Sainthood. One year has passed already, so the Lord Cheng must had reached the upper levels of Sainthood with his talent in cultivation."

"Definitely, Lord Cheng is the number one genius at cultivation at Kargath Academy. The headmaster had even said before that by the age of 23, Lord Cheng would definitely become a Great Saint."

"Becoming a Great Saint by the age of 23, Lord Cheng is truly amazing. Many of the seniors in Kargath Academy are still at the rank of the 10th layer of Saint Force."

As Karl walked down the path slowly, the seniors the saw the pair walk by continued to gossip. Lord Cheng was a very well known figure within Kargath Academy, not for his character, but for his cultivation rate that would astound anyone. Within the Tian Yuan continent, he could be considered to be a prodigy blessed by the heavens, and in Kargath Academy, he could be considered as standing at the peak of the strongest experts.

At this moment, Jian Chen was still pouring his interest into the book in his hands, completely unaware of the incoming trouble.

In a flash, Luo Yun and Luo Jian arrived at the library gates. A few feet away from the big gates, the one who had been trailing Jian Chen, Chen Feng, was leaning against a tree trunk. His eyes were constantly watching Jian Chen, who was still reading with relish, and had completely forgotten about his surroundings.

When Chen Feng saw Luo Yun with Luo Jian by his side, he immediately ran over to them. He bowed at Luo Jian, and with a charming face, said, "I didn't think that I would meet the lord Luo Jian here. I am truly honored to see you." Chen Feng was extremely respectful; although he too belonged to a clan, within the Gesun Kingdom, it was a very minor one. It was only when he was joined together with the children of bigger clans that he dared to collect money from those weaker than him. With this, he had a strong relationship with the Luo Clan that would definitely bring him many benefits. If he was lucky, then his own clan would be pulled up into the higher ranks with the help of Luo Jian; after all, Luo Jian was to be the clan's successor.

Luo Jian felt proud as he looked at the respectful Chen Feng, and gave a small wave of his hand, "Don't say anymore crap, is Changyang Xiang Tian in the library?"

Even though Luo Jian had absolutely no trace of politeness, Chen Feng's look of respect didn't waver in the least. With a smile, he replied, "He is, Changyang Xiang Tian is still in the library."

A sneer gradually formed on Luo Jian's face, as he got the answer he wanted, "That's good. Go inside and call him out for me." The library had a rule that all fighting inside was prohibited, and even Luo Jian had to respect that rule, despite his family having a great amount of influence.

"Yes, of course, master Luo. I'll have Changyang Xiang Tian out immediately," Chen Feng said compliantly as he entered the library.

Inside the library, Jian Chen's focus was still on his book; whenever he was in the library his guard was at its lowest. This was because within the library, he didn't have to worry about others causing trouble or asking questions, so remaining on guard wasn't needed.

While Jian Chen was lost in his own world, he had the sudden feeling of someone's hand clasping down on his shoulder. Although he was still reluctant to part from his book, he looked to the youth standing next to me with a cold sneer on his face. From his memory, he remembered that this person was one of the four people who had tried to extort protection money from him.

Chen Feng stood by his side with a look of great joy at Jian Chen's impending doom. With a strange tone, he said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, I didn't think we'd see each other again so soon."

"It's you!" Jian Chen scowled. Without giving him face, he spoke, "If you're still looking for protection money, then you can scram."

Chen Feng's eyes flashed with anger, but he didn't dare make a move towards Jian Chen. The library was strict on their rules, and he was sure that he wasn't a match for Jian Chen.

Chen Feng stuck his chest out as his glared maliciously at Jian Chen, and coldly said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, although I am no match for you, Kargath Academy is not someplace you can rampage around. If you really have the guts, then follow me outside. Otherwise, prepare to stay in this library for the rest of your life." After dropping these words, Chen Feng directly walked out of the library. However, the words he had said had already attracted the attentions of all the students within the library. Immediately, many people began to shift their attentions to Jian Chen with complicated expressions of envy, respect, and jealousy.

Jian Chen slowly closed the book with a crossed expression. From Chen Feng's words it would seem that he got reinforcements to help him.

Jian Chen's eyes twinkled as he put the book back on the bookshelf and then walked towards the entrance of the library deep in thought. Although he knew people were waiting outside for him, if he didn't go out then people would think he was afraid of them. If Jian Chen wanted to continue reading books in the library in peace, then he would need to reveal his own strength and inspire fear into the others. Otherwise more and more people would come and find trouble with him; there would be no point in coming to the library in that case.

Although he knew that the people outside were definitely not weak, it was possible that they were experts at the same level as Ka Di Yun. However, Jian Chen still did not show any trace of fear. He was confident that if he faced a Saint at his current level, even if he didn't win, he would not easily lose. After all, no matter if it were battle experience or techniques, Jian Chen far surpassed anyone else at the academy. Moreover, he was a person who had experienced countless life or death situations.

As soon as Jian Chen left the library, he looked up to find three youths standing outside the door. They didn't look very different from each other, as they all wore the school uniform. Two of the people were part of the extortion group Jian Chen had met before, and the third one was looking at Jian Chen with an expression full of arrogance. It was obvious that he had been a helper summoned by the other two.

Seeing Jian Chen actually walk out of the library, Luo Yun began to laugh evilly. He whispered to Luo Jian standing next to him, "My lord, he is Changyang Xiang Tian."

Luo Jian's arrogant eyes sized up Jian Chen with an expression of disdain, and he coldly said, "Brat, are you Changyang Xiang Tian?"

Jian Chen gave Luo Jian a level look. Luo Jian looked to be around 22-23 years old, and he had an extremely handsome appearance. However, his expression did not hide any of his arrogance.

"And who are you?" Jian Chen indifferently replied to Luo Jian, his tone ice-cold.

Luo Yun, who was standing next to Luo Jian, shouted, "How dare you, Changyang Xiang Tian. What kind of status do you have to dare to use that kind of tone to talk to my clan's lord? Do you want to get kicked out of this academy?"

"Changyang Xiang Tian, hurry up and apologize to my lord. Otherwise, don't think you can stay at Kargath Academy for much long." Chen Feng did not miss the chance to suck up to Luo Jian, and yelled back at Jian Chen in an indignant tone.

Hearing these two's words, the Luo Clan's lord, Luo Jian, became even haughtier, and his face was full of self-pride.

Jian Chen's unchanged face gradually showed a hint of a sneer, and he looked at the three people with disdain, and said, "Based on your words, are you saying that the headmaster of Kargath Academy will listen to you three? Or perhaps, are you saying that Kargath Academy belongs to your clan, whoever you want to leave must leave? The three of you are really too audacious, to even dare to look down on the headmaster."

Hearing Jian Chen's words, the expression of both Luo Yun and Chen Feng suddenly paled. Even Luo Jia, who had a huge clan backing him up, he could not stop his expression from turning unsightly, as he glared poisonously at Jian Chen. Although he had the most influence backing him up out of the three since Luo Jian was the successor of Gesun Kingdom's powerful Luo clan, he did not dare to show any disrespect towards the headmaster of Kargath Academy. If Jian Chen's words spread to the headmaster's ears, then they would be heavily punished. In the worst case scenario, they could be directly expelled. Even if Luo Jian had a powerful background, even if his father was Luo clan's clan leader, even if he was Luo clan's successor, there was no way he could get away of such a consequence completely cop-free. His Luo clan would definitely not be willing to offend Kargath Academy's headmaster for his sake.

Luo Jian's face turned gloomy, and he glared at Jian Chen, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you really are quite arrogant. I just wonder if you have the qualifications to be so arrogant."

Jian Chen laughed in disdain, and coldly replied, "Stop wasting your breath, just say why you've come looking for me."

Luo Jian let out a smile filled with a murderous intent. "The reason I came is very simple. I just wanted to see how someone like you defeated a recently advanced Saint, even if Ka Di Yun didn't use a Saint Weapon. Changyang Xiang Tian, are you really that amazing?" Luo Jian cracked the knuckles on both his hands before clenching them both. The loud snapping sound from his knuckles was clear to hear as a strong amount of energy started to emit from his body onto Jian Chen's own.

At the same time, the people who were reading their books inside the library all closed their books. Everyone start to chatter excitedly as they watched the events that were happening with Jian Chen with pleasure.

Regarding the Qi that Luo Jian was emitting, Jian Chen was not affected at all and stood straight like a towering mountain. Luo Jian's strength was clear to Jian Chen and was not at all weaker to Ka Di Yun; however, it was not strong enough for him to fear, instead, his fighting spirit rose.

As soon as they saw the two opponents were about to start fighting, the people in front of the library began to retreat, afraid that they would be affected by any shockwaves.

"How could we miss such an interesting battle?" Just before the two people were about to begin fighting, a voice suddenly rang out from the back, and a few youths wearing the school uniform walked out from behind.

There were a total of five people that had just arrived. Among them, one of the people was another person from the extortion group that Jian Chen had encountered earlier. Jian Chen did not recognize the other four, but anyone could tell with a single glance that they were from major clans. Their brows seemed to hold an aloof and remote expressions.

However, what drew Jian Chen's attention was the youth standing in the center of the group of five. It was obvious from his eyes that he was the core figure the other four revolved around. He didn't seem that old; based on his appearance, he was probably around 20 years old.

"Ya….everyone, look; isn't the person in the middle master Cheng, who's been missing the past year? I didn't imagine that he would also come."

"That's right, it really is master Cheng, our Kargath Academy's genius. It's said that a year ago, his power had already reached the middle Saint levels. With his talent in cultivation, I had thought during the past year, master Cheng had already broken through to the Great Saint level and graduated. I didn't think that he was actually still on the academy grounds."

"I wonder what master Cheng's current power is, and whether or not he has reached Great Saint level yet…."

"The three people next to master Cheng seem to be powerful Saints who have already condensed their Saint Weapons. To think that the elites that are normally rare to see would all appear here…."

Seeing the students standing there, all of the students started to shout in alarm, rapidly increasing the noise in the environment.

"Cheng Mingxiang, you've come at just the right time. If you were the slightest bit late, you would've missed this interesting show." Seeing the youth amongst the crowd, Luo Jian immediately stopped his imposing manner, and laughed as he greeted the youth. He then nodded at the other three students following behind.

Cheng Mingxiang started to smile, "How could I miss a match like this?" He stared down at Jian Chen with disdain before saying, "Do you think that's Changyang Xiang Tian?"

"Correct, Lord Cheng. He's definitely that Changyang Xiang Tian who hurt our companions." Luo Jian said as he stood behind Karl.

Cheng Mingxiang nodded his head and said slowly, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you're definitely not bad, to even hurt my comrades!" His voice was getting darker with each word.

Jian Chen's mind already understood that these were a group of unreasonable children with rich parents, so arguing with them was of no use; they would only listen to force. Thus, Jian Chen didn't bother to say any trash talk; instead, he said coldly, "So what if we fight; if you're not happy with this, make the first move instead of spouting so much bullsh*t."

Hearing Jian Chen's words, Cheng Mingxiang's face gradually turned ashen, "Good. Good, good. Then it's time to see how strong you really are." With that, his body started to glow so brightly that the light extended 10 meters away to where Jian Chen was. Dashing forward, he launched his fist towards Jian Chen's nose; against a person who wasn't even a Saint, he wouldn't even bother using his Saint Weapon.

Even Jian Chen knew that Cheng Mingxiang's strength far surpassed Ka Di Yun; the difference in Saint Force was far too great with his own as well. Therefore, Jian Chen absolutely could not afford to take that fist. Just when Cheng Mingxiang's fist was about to connect with Jian Chen's head, his head suddenly blurred and dodged the fist. At the same time, Jian Chen's two fists went up to grab at the incoming arm from Cheng Mingxiang. Assuming a horse stance, he stiffened his back and pulled at the arm with both of his own.

Originally, when Cheng Mingxiang was attacking, his center of gravity had been leaning forwards. Now, Jian Chen had pulled him further, he momentarily lost control over his body, and he began to fall forwards. However, Cheng Mingxiang was quick to respond. Stamping on the ground with his foot, he exerted all his force to try to prevent any further pull from Jian Chen. As he did that, however, Jian Chen suddenly let go of Cheng Mingxiang's arm and immediately pummeled at his stomach with a barrage of blows that were as fast as lightning.

Since Cheng Mingxiang's center of gravity was now focused towards the back, when Jian Chen had punched him with all his might, his legs couldn't help but stumbled backwards, as if he was struggling to avoid falling.

After falling back 10 steps, Cheng Mingxiang finally regained his bearings but his face had long since turned into the same color as a pig's liver. With a dark and ominous expression, he glared at Jian Chen maliciously. Because of his majestic body, he was considered to have one of the strongest in the academy, so how could he not feel furious at this? If the academy found out his body was actually hit and injured like this, then he would no longer have face within the academy and become a laughing stock.

After thinking about the consequences of this, he glared at Jian Chen with a stare that could kill since this was an utter disgrace to him.

Already, the entire audience had became absolutely quiet. Luo Jian's own face had become sluggish as he stared at Jian Chen with a surprised look. This was far beyond his wildest imagination, and not just his own, but everyone else watching. Cheng Mingxiang was a talented genius when it came to cultivation, and even Saints couldn't match him in a hand to hand fight. To have Jian Chen make him suffer such a loss and put him in such an ugly state was very surprising.

Glaring once more at Jian Chen, Cheng Mingxiang's arm started to release a silver type of Qi before forming a two handed sword. He snarled, saying, "Changyang Xiang Tian, I will definitely cripple you today!" With that declaration, he surged towards Jian Chen with the silver sword in tow.

"Stop!"

Right as Cheng Mingxiang had started to move, another deep voice had shouted over the crowd and noise. Immediately, everyone saw a rather robust and suntanned youth slowly walk forward.

When Jian Chen saw the sturdy youth come forward, his eyes widened in shock. It was because this person was also a participant in the Freshmen Competition and the person with the heavenly blessed strength–Tie Ta.

The moment when Luo Jian and Cheng Mingxiang's men looked at Tie Ta, their faces started to change, an abject fear taking hold of them.

Luo Yun didn't recognize Tie Ta at all, so with an arrogant cry towards Tie Ta, he demanded, "Who are you? This is business concerning Lord Luo and Lord Cheng so don't interfere, otherwise you'll regret it…"

"Shut your mouth!" Not even waiting for Luo Yun to finish talking, Luo Jian cut into Luo Yun's speech. Not even paying attention to Luo Yun's look of surprise, Luo Jian's face contained a smile towards Tie Ta as he cupped his hands in salute. "So it was brother Tie Ta after all, this one wonders what brother Tie Ta is doing here."

Tie Ta looked at him with an strange look before speaking in a low voice, "Who are you? I don't recognize you at all." Not understanding why Luo Jian's face became so unsightly, Tie Ta directly walked towards Jian Chen and lifted his hand to clasp onto Jian Chen's shoulder. "Changyang Xiang Tian, I didn't think I'd meet you here of all places! It has been so many days since I last saw you!" He boomed.

Jian Chen also gave a faint laugh, "Tie Ta, let us put off this chat for now and let me take care of a few troublesome matters first."

Listening to what Jian Chen said, Tie Ta's head whipped over to Cheng Mingxiang and Luo Jian's group and slowly stared at them before pointing a finger, "Changyang Xiang Tian, could it be that they're trying to bully you?"

"It could be said that way, yes, " Jian Chen indifferently said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

As soon as he heard this, Tie Ta immediately rolled up his sleeves. He fiercely looked at the opposing group of people and loudly declared, "Changyang Xiang Tian is my brother. Anyone who bullies him is bullying me as well. Whoever wants fight, come out. Even though my power might not be that strong, I, Tie Ta, am not afraid of you guys."

Hearing Tie Ta's words, Jian Chen hesitated for a second. He looked at Tie Ta in confusion, not quite understand when he had become Tie Ta's brother.

Cheng Mingxiang and Luo Jian's expressions changed. They glanced at each other with a serious look. It was obvious that they were somewhat afraid of Tie Ta. Even though Tie Ta's actual power wasn't very strong, and they could easily defeat him in a fight, Tie Ta had a formidable supporter that even the two of them were afraid to encounter. This was why they had never dared to touch Tie Ta at Kargath Academy.

Neither of the people spoke, and Karl and Luo Yun had already realized from Luo Jian's attitude that Tie Ta's identity was not normal. Thus, they made the smart decision off not making a sound. At that moment, the atmosphere had become slightly strange.

After quietly pondering for a while, Luo Jian was the first to break the silence, "Brother Tie Ta, this is a problem between me and Changyang Xiang Tian; I hope you don't meddle with our affairs." Luo Jian's tone was extremely polite. He clearly understood that although Tie Ta was a commoner, his current status was without a doubt not any less powerful than his. It was even higher than his by a bit. Even if he was the successor to the Luo clan, his status was at most equivalent to Tie Ta's

Luo Jian's words made all the spectators shocked. There were quite a few seniors amongst them that recognized both Luo Jian and Cheng Mingxiang, and they knew that although their individual statuses weren't that high, they both had great clans backing them up. And yet, at the moment, the two of them had suddenly acted polite to Tie Ta. This made the library's spectators curious about Tie Ta's identity. They couldn't imagine what kind of background Tie Ta must have to have been so domineering, and to make the insufferably arrogant Luo Jian and Cheng Mingxiang so cautious and fearful.

Unfortunately, Tie Ta had no intention to appreciate the offer. Without giving face, he said, "I already said earlier, Changyang Xiang Tian is my brother. His problems are my problems. If anyone has complaints, then everyone should direct them towards me."

Luo Jian's expression changed colors, and his eyes showed a serious expression. In regards to Tie Ta, he really didn't dare to offend him too much.

At that moment, Cheng Mingxiang snorted, and he glared at Tie Ta. In a heavy voice, he said, "Tie Ta, do you really want to butt into this business?" Having suffered from Jian Chen's hands, Cheng Mingxiang had already formed a hatred for Jian Chen in his heart. For a freshman that hadn't even reached Saint level yet to have put him in such a difficult situation was definitely a humiliation to his genius. If he didn't clean this situation up now, then he wouldn't be able to enjoy his time at the academy in the future.

"That's right, I want to get involved." Tie Ta's yelled back, his expression harsh. Even though he clearly knew how powerful Cheng Mingxiang was, Tie Ta still did not show any sign of fear.

Jian Chen pulled at Tie Ta and said, "Tie Ta, this is something between me and him. You shouldn't come **; otherwise, you'll just get caught up in more trouble."

Tie Ta's eyes flashed with anger, and he suddenly turned towards Jian Chen, frowning, "Changyang Xiang Tian, what kind of words are those? Do you think that I, Tie Ta, is someone who would be scared of these things? Do you not think of me as your friend?"

Hearing this, Jian Chen could not help but feel puzzled. When had he and Tie Ta gotten so close? They barely even met each other; the only time they had really interacted was during the freshmen martial arts competition.

"Hmph, Tie Ta. since you want to suffer so badly, then don't blame me. Don't think that just because you're the headmaster's apprentice, I won't dare to attack you. Let me witness exactly how great the headmaster's apprentice's abilities are."

Hearing Cheng Ming Yan's words, Jian Chen was internally shocked. He hadn't imagined that Tie Ta had actually become the headmaster's apprentice. If this news was spread throughout the academy, it would spur a great craze.

At this moment, Cheng Ming Yang had already appeared in front of Tie Ta, and directly struck his fist against Tie Ta's chest. Because Tie Ta had a special status, Cheng Mingxiang did not dare to actually hurt Tie Ta, and his fist only used fifth layer force. In his opinion, even if he only used the strength of the fifth layer, it still wasn't an attack that a Saint could receive, let alone someone below that, like Tie Ta.

Faced with Cheng Mingxiang's attack, Tie Ta did not dare to be careless, and his face showed matchless concentration. He roared, then with his right arm seemingly as sturdy as steel, he fearlessly threw a fist at Cheng Mingxiang to meet force with force.

"Peng!"

Tie Ta and Cheng Mingxiang's fists collided into each other, creating a loud boom. A fierce shockwave exploded as the two fighters flew backwards.

Feeling Tie Ta's power within his fist, Cheng Mingxiang's face faltered slightly, becoming a look of astonishment. Although Tie Ta's strength wasn't at the level of a Saint, the energy in Tie Ta's fist was something that even a Saint couldn't release. If it weren't for the fact that Cheng Mingxiang's strength was stronger than Tie Ta by so much, then he would have suffered a huge loss from that confrontation. But even though he had made it out relatively unharmed, Cheng Mingxiang's shoulder had started to ache with pain.

Stretching his right shoulder a bit, Cheng Mingxiang looked at Tie Ta in a new light, "The headmaster's apprentice is truly marvelous. The power inside your fist is likewise frightening, and completely dominated my own fist. If you were a Saint, then your fist would have forced me into taking a huge amount of damage."

Tie Ta's godly strength was an inconceivable amount of power that no one else could compare themselves too. His strength was so strong that even Jian Chen gasped in astonishment. Against such a strong opponent, Tie Ta didn't suffer a single trace of damage.

Tie Ta boomed with a happy laughter, and said, "Try again, I'll return the favor immediately." He swung his fists in a ready position as he faced Cheng Mingxiang.

Looking at Tie Ta, Cheng Mingxiang's eyebrows knitted together as he looked the paling Luo Jian. "I'll stall Tie Ta, you go teach Changyang Xiang Tian a lesson." Without a pause, he charged at Tie Ta and the two started to fight once more.

Thanks to Tie Ta's special status within the academy, Cheng Mingxiang didn't dare to use his Saint Weapon, and instead used his twin fists to fight him. But after a few rounds of close combat exchanges, Cheng Mingxiang began to grumble to himself about how absurd Tie Ta's strength was. Not only that, but Tie Tia's body was like steel, so combined with his enormous strength that complimented his Saint Force, there was no way Cheng Mingxiang would be able to defeat Tie Ta without using his Saint Weapon, despite being stronger than Tie Ta. He was using the entirety of his strength, but could only accomplish very little, such as pushing Tie Ta backwards. In addition, he still didn't dare to fight head-on with Tie Ta for an extended period of time.

The students all watched Cheng Mingxiang fight against the incredibly strong Tie Ta with wide eyes, as they took pleasure in watching the fight. Although many of the students here had never seen Tie Ta before, they all knew him by name. After all, he was the 2nd place winner of the Freshmen Competition, and thus his name had spread throughout the academy. Still, many people were having a hard time believing that someone who wasn't even a Saint yet could fight toe to toe with Kargath Academy's talented genius, Cheng Mingxiang.

The news that the Freshmen Ruler of the Freshmen Competition, Changyang Xiang Tian, was able to beat the Saint Ka Di Yun had already shaken the academy. And at the moment, they were completely incapable of accepting the fact that Tie Ta, who wasn't even a Saint yet, could fight one of the strongest Saints, Cheng Mingxiang, to a standstill.

While Cheng Mingxiang fought fiercely against Tie Ta, Luo Jian didn't idle about. Rushing towards Jian Chen, Luo Jian didn't bother to use his Saint Weapon since he was a middle rank Saint, so it would be a waste for him to use it against someone who wasn't even a Saint yet.

Luo Jian quickly ran towards Jian Chen before he could even prepare himself, and used his right leg to kick him. The kick traveled at such a fast speed towards Jian Chen's stomach, that he could feel a cold gale. The kick was both fast and so fierce, and had no hesitation at all. Since it was Jian Chen, Luo Jian would never consider holding back.

Despite Luo Jian's kick being extraordinarily fast, he underestimated Jian Chen's reaction and evasion speed. Just as Luo Jian was about to kick Jian Chen, he narrowly dodged to the side, and so Luo Jian's leg only clipped his clothes. Although it had looked like Jian Chen had only barely dodged the kick by the skin of his teeth, there was not a single trace of panic on Jian Chen's face, instead, there was only a casual look of relaxation.

Seeing his attack miss, Luo Jian's eyes reflected a shocked expression. However the next instant, the cyan Saint Force immediately appeared from within his body. As soon as it materialized, mysterious breezes began to surround his body.

Suddenly feeling the fierce gale from Luo Jian's kick, Jian Chen's eyes revealed a look of amazement. According to the books he had read earlier this type of attack was an example of a Saint with a wind attribute.

A Saint with an attribute was generally stronger than a Saint without one by a large margin; not only that, but those with an attribute would generally have that added to their strength. Those with a wind attribute would definitely have their speed increased multiple times, and in the higher ranks, there would be very little that could compete with a wind attribute Saint in speed.

A cyan colored Saint Force started to flow out from Luo Jian as his right hand was completely wrapped up in it. With another quick dash towards Jian Chen to attack him, this fist was even faster than before and even left behind a phantom image; the naked eye would not be able to see the fist at all.

His face growing grave, Jian Chen leaned his head to the side and dodged Luo Jian's fist once more. His right leg immediately lashed out towards Luo Jian that was no slower than the fist earlier.

Luo Jian's eyes flashed dangerously as he realized Jian Chen's speed was no slower than his own. Because of the high speed kick, Luo Jian had no time to dodge it. Without any other choice, the wind attributed Saint Force started to concentrate within his left hand as he brought it smashing down onto Jian Chen's incoming leg.

Luo Jian wind attributed Saint Forced infused fist fiercely collided with Jian Chen's leg, causing the weaker Jian Chen to be sent flying back.

Jian Chen's body was thrown back with great speed, but both of his legs dragged against the ground, using the friction to slow his momentum. Leaving behind two exceptionally clear drag marks on the ground, Jian Chen estimated that he had been forced to retreat 10 meters back.

Luo Jian cracked his knuckles and stared at the rarely seen look of solemnity on Jian Chen's face. In that short confrontation, Luo Jian realized that he could not view Jian Chen as a regular person. Although his strength wasn't that of a Saint, his fighting capabilities were.

Luo Jian's eyes started to flash with a small amount of hesitation before he finally came to a conclusion . In this situation, if he wanted to defeat Jian Chen as soon as possible, then he would have to use his Saint Weapon. Although this would be hard to avoid being subjected to everyone's laughter, but he knew that if he didn't use his Saint Weapon he would not be able to defeat Jian Chen in a short amount of time. If it took a long time for someone like him to deal with a freshmen that wasn't a Saint, then it would create an even bigger impact on his reputation.

When he thought about how he, as a middle Saint level, was unable to defeat a person who had not yet reached Saint level, and even had to use a Saint Weapon to do so; Luo Jian could not help but feel vexed. It made his hatred for Jian Chen develop even deeper. Today's battle, no matter who the victor was, he would still lose a lot of face. On the other hand, Jian Chen would most likely have his reputation increased by today's battle, and his reputation would once again spread throughout the entire Kargath Academy.

Luo Jian's eyes shone with a cold light that could make one shudder, and nobody dared to look at him straight in the eyes. Accompanying his palm, a powerful cyan Saint Force began to frantically rush forth, gradually condensing into a cyan greatsword. It was about 5 feet long and 3 inches wide, and the entire sword was covered in a thick layer of cyan light. That sharp blade emitted blinding light rays from the reflection of the sun light, and the mere sight of it made people quake in fear.

Jian Chen sensed that the cyan greatsword in Luo Jian's hand was emitting a powerful Saint Force, and his face gradually became more grave. Using a Saint Weapon, Luo Jian's power had multiplied, much higher than it previously was. If Luo Jian didn't use his Saint Weapon, then Jian Chen could still deal with the fight, albeit with some difficulty. However, once the Saint Weapon was drawn, Jian Chen could only cautiously take up the challenge. Based on his previous world's experience from the countless life or death battles he had gained, perhaps he would be able to hold off the attack. However, it would be extremely difficult to win.

With his Saint Weapon in hand, Luo Jian's imposing manner suddenly grew stronger. His eyes intensely glared at Jian Chen, as he said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, today I will definitely dispose of you." Luo Jian raised the cyan greatsword high in the air, and its cyan glow sharply increased in brightness, as its strong Saint Force managed to jolt even the few students observing the fight from within the library.

"Ah!" Luo Jian roared, as he quickly slashed the cyan greatsword down from above his head, leaving a gorgeous cyan trajectory behind it as it moved. The only thing that could be seen was the lightly fast cyan Sword Qi that shot out and headed straight towards Jian Chen.

Sensing that the Sword Qi was extremely powerful, Jian Chen's face immediately showed matchless concentration; that was definitely not something the current him could withstand. The cyan Sword Qi was so incomprehensibly fast that Jian Chen didn't have the time to contemplate his actions. He gathered all his power into his legs, to prepare to dodge with all his might. Suddenly, a white figure shot out as fast as lightning at a pace even faster than the cyan Sword Qi, and stood in front of Jian Chen as a shield.

When the cyan Sword Qi shot towards the white figure, it unexpectedly disappeared silently without a trace. Not even a single spark could be seen.

The white figure that approached was a middle-aged man around 40 years old. The man wore a white changpao, and his scholarly face was extremely solemn. His pair of unordinary eyes were completely filled with anger.

When Luo Jian saw the white clad middle-aged man, his expression drastically changed, and his face paled. He made the cyan greatsword in his hand disappear in an instant, and immediately bowed to greet the man respectfully, "Vice headmaster!" These mere two words betrayed the traces of fear hidden in Luo Jian's voice.

Hearing Luo Jian address this middle-aged male like so, Jian Chen paused. His gaze rested on the male's back for a bit, as his heart realized the man's identity. To his relief, it was the one who held the position second only the headmaster's: Kargath Academy's one and only vice headmaster, Bai En.


	8. Monster Core hunt part 1

Bai En's terrifying gaze lingered on Luo Jian for some time before snorting loudly. His gaze then shifted over to the still fighting Tie Ta and Cheng Mingxiang before he said in a low voice, "Are you still not stopping?" His voice boomed like thunder, as the two people were struck by the loud echo, causing them to temporarily go deaf.

Tie Ta and Cheng Mingxiang immediately paused; the moment they saw the vice headmaster. Tie Ta suddenly smiled with no small amount of excitement. Cheng Mingxiang's face, on the other hand, changed into one full of fear.

Tie Ta walked up to Jian Chen and slowly looked him over carefully. In a low voice, he whispered, "Changyang Xiang Tian, are you hurt?"

Jian Chen only shook his head before giving him a meaningful stare to stay silent.

Tie Ta only laughed in response; although he had the heart and body of a tiger, he could understand the meaning behind Jian Chen's actions. Without saying anything more, he stood behind Jian Chen and remained silent as per his wishes. However, Tie Ta still continued to look carefully at Cheng Mingxiang and winked at him as if to provoke him. Clearly the fight he had just now wasn't enough for him to fully enjoy it.

The vice headmaster, Bai En, shot a strong glance towards Luo Jian and Cheng Mingxiang, "Luo Jian, you've already broken the rules of the academy; you know your crime."

Luo Jian lifted his head in aggravation, "Vice headmaster, giving pointers amongst students is very common. Changyang Xiang Tian and I were only doing that and not anything else. As for me breaking the academy rules, your student inquires of you, which rule did I break?".

"Hmph, you still dare to quibble like this!" Bai En growled, "Luo Jian, what is the 66th rule for Kargath Academy?"

Luo Jian titled his head in thought before answering, "The 66th rule is that fighting in the library and the destruction of the library is prohibited."

Bai En continued to stare at him, "If it weren't for me blocking your Sword Qi, then I'm afraid that the library gates would have been broken by you. Luo Jian, do you recognize your crime now?"

Luo Jian's face suddenly dropped after hearing that; what the vice headmaster said was correct. If the Sword Qi he had shot out was dodged by Jian Chen and continued onwards, then the library gates would had been broken beyond repair and might have also hurt the audience that was watching.

Whether or not Jian Chen would had been able to dodge the Sword Qi, Luo Jian didn't dare to say. If he did voice out this scenario, then he was afraid of another charge being dropped on him. Because the school had clear cut rules, it said that students were free to give each other pointers, but if they were to intentionally hurt someone, then they would be severely punished. Besides, he had deliberately used his Sword Qi to injure someone who wasn't even a Saint yet, so the situation was even more complex. Although he had expected this type of end result, he had thought that he would be able to get away with more. But since the vice headmaster was here, the situation had developed into a way he hadn't expected. Right now, in Luo Jian's heart, he could only hope that the vice headmaster wouldn't give them too harsh of a punishment.

"Luo Jian has recognized his crimes." He said in direction of the vice headmaster, he didn't dare be arrogant.

Bai En snorted once more to himself before saying, "Luo Jian, you have already violated one of the rules of the academy, I therefore sentence you to the Contemplation Hall to reflect on your crimes for a month, do you have any objections?"

The Contemplation Hall was where students who had violated the rules of the academy would go to. Although it had the word "Hall" in its name, it was nothing more than a small stone house. It was smaller than a dorm room and could hold only one person within it. Once the door was closed, the person inside would be placed inside a pitch dark room. No matter how strong the outside light was, it would not be able to penetrate through the stone house. Aside from seeing nothing, no sound would be able to get across either, even if the strongest hail storm was happening, the person inside would not notice a thing.

"Luo Jian has understood with all of his heart, and has no objection." He said with a bow of his head. His tone was respectful, and no one would have thought that while he looked repentant, the poison in his heart was growing with his grievances against Jian Chen.

The vice headmaster nodded his head, a jollier expression was returning to his face, "You may leave then and look for the Contemplation Hall yourself to reflect." Afterwards, Bai En turned his eyes towards the anxious Cheng Mingxiang. "Cheng Mingxiang, even with your strength, to think that you were bullying a freshmen, our Kargath Academy has lost face because of you."

Cheng Mingxiang expressionlessly said, "Vice headmaster's teachings are correct. Ming Xiang understands his wrongs, and will not repeat them ever again."

"Cheng Mingxiang, I hope that you bear in mind, this is Kargath Academy, not your Hua Yun Sect. If you want to continue living within Kargath Academy, then you must learn to comply with the rules. Otherwise, even if you are the young lord of the Hua Yun Sect, you will be punished accordingly. I hope that there won't be a repeat of this event. You may leave." When it came to Cheng Mingxiang, the vice headmaster was somewhat afraid of the consequences and didn't dare to punish him anymore.

Cheng Mingxiang did not utter another word, as he and his followers quietly left the place.

Seeing the worst come to past, Luo Yun, Chen Feng, and Karl did not continue to stick around, and left dejectedly.

Once the crowds had dispersed, the vice headmaster's gaze rested on Jian Chen, and he smiled, "You must be Changyang Xiang Tian."

Jian Chen nodded, and in a tone that was neither overbearing nor servile, he replied, "Yes, I am him."

The vice headmaster properly sized Changyang Xiang Tian up, and his previously solemn expression disappeared. He smiled and said, "Having not yet achieved Saint level and yet still managed to force Luo Jian to summon his Saint Weapon; Changyang Xiang Tian, you're quite good."

"Vice headmaster, you're exaggerating too much. It was only due to a moment of fortune," Jian Chen plainly replied, his expression completely devoid of any arrogance.

As his eyes gazed at Jian Chen's collected expression, vice headmaster, Bai En, nodded his head in praise, "Changyang Xiang Tien, you need to properly cultivate, and aim to become Saint level as soon as possible."

"Many thanks to the vice headmaster's concern. I will definitely continue to cultivate diligently," Jian Chen smiled.

Afterwards, Bei En's gaze returned to Tie Ta, "Tie Ta, although now that you're the headmaster's apprentice, your identity has changed, you must still remember that only by improving your own power by yourself will you really earn people's respect. Only that way can you support yourself in Tian Yuan continent. Do you you understand?"

Tie Ta cleverly nodded, and replied in a muffled voice, "Tie Ta understands."

"Yes!" The vice headmaster nodded, and continued, "Although you are at the peak of talents, and your future is boundless, you cannot, under any circumstance, become confident. You must always face everything in a calm and collected manner. You also cannot learn anything from those aristocratic families, since you are now the headmaster's apprentice. Your future training will be more arduous, and you will have to spend more time on cultivation. You definitely cannot waste the headmaster's painstaking efforts."

At these words, Tie Ta patted his chest and promised Bai En, "Vice headmaster, don't worry. I, Tie Ta, will definitely cultivate diligently. I will absolutely not make master lose face."

The vice headmaster smiled and nodded, leaving the room. Once he had left, Jian Chen and Tie Ta chatted for a bit longer, and after exchanging goodbyes, Jian Chen returned to the library to read his books.

When Jian Chen returned to the library, the students originally watching from within the library all disappeared without a trace. Not long after, the two moving news had travelled around the entire Kargath Academy at an unbelievable rate.

"The freshmen martial arts competition's second place, Tie Ta, actually became Kargath Academy's headmaster's apprentice. Moreover, he had an intense fight with the cultivation genius, Cheng Mingxiang."

"The freshmen martial arts competition's Freshman Ruler, Changyang Xiang Tian, used only his bare hands, and managed to force a middle Saint level, Luo Jian, to use his Saint Weapon in a battle. Finally, Luo Jian disturbed vice headmaster Bai En, and ended up being confined in the Contemplation Hall for a whole month as punishment."

These two pieces of news had already been spread to every corner of Kargath Academy in the short span of two hours time, shocking both teachers and students alike. At the same time, Tie Ta had become the most well-known celebrity in Kargath Academy. He was originally just a commoner, but now that his identity had gone through world-shaking changes, nobles that had originally looked down on him because of his background now looked at him with new expressions. From that day on, Tie Ta had also become the child that people with varying amounts of influence tried to rope into their families.

Although Jian Chen's name had also spread around the academy, it had already completely been overtaken by the extreme radiance from Tie Ta's news. However, Jian Chen paid no mind to it.

Despite this, there were still many female students that looked at Jian Chen with sparkling gazes of infatuation. Jian Chen's appearance was extremely handsome, and was definitely not any lower than any other male in Kargath Academy. Combined with his unique grandeur and his powerful abilities, he was definitely a lady killer. Thus, in Kargath Academy, Jian Chen had become the white prince in many of of the girls' hearts.

Ever since the battle at the library, Jian Chen's days had been anything but calm. Every time he entered the school grounds, he would be swarmed by countless male students trying to come up with various excuses to fight him. Even when he went to the library to read, he would still be harassed by quite a few people, making it so that he couldn't even read peacefully. Up until now, Jian Chen had also acted and disciplined a few people because they had been condescending children from rich backgrounds. However, perhaps because Jian Chen was too forgiving in his discipline, his attempts had close to no deterring effects, and were pretty much completely overlooked. Finally, the helpless Jian Chen was forced to bring the books back to his dorm to read under the vice headmaster's permission. Aside from reading, Jian Chen spent almost all his spare time cultivating.

The time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three months had already passed. It was morning, and the sun had just risen. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Jian Chen gradually opened his eyes, and in that instant, a light flashed within his eyes.

Jian Chen lowered his head and slowly spread out his palms. He saw that his hands were empty, as the Class 3 Monster Core he had been holding had already completely disappeared.

Sensing the strong Saint Force flowing through his body in a manner similar to great rivers, Jian Chen finally smiled —he had broken through to the 10th Saint Force layer.

After three months of cultivation, he had already broken through to the 10th layer. He was only one step away from reaching the Saint level, and could break through at any moment. The Class 3 Monster Core from the freshmen martial arts competition had already been completely used up by him. Although it was said that Class 3 Monster Core contained large amounts of energy, the amount that Jian Chen needed for his cultivation was far greater than that of an average person's. After all, the abilities that he achieved through his cultivation were extremely terrifying. Thus, a Class 3 Monster Core that could allow an average person at the 8th layer reach a middle Saint level, could only help Jian Chen reach the peak of the 10th layer.

Jian Chen looked outside at the sky from his window. The sun had been out for a while, so Jian Chen knew that it was no longer early in the morning.

Today was a special day for Kargath Academy since this was when they would hold a large scale event where all the students and teachers would take part in. This event was called the Wilderness Survival. Every student would have to leave Kargath Academy to live in the forest 20 miles away for 3 days. Within the 3 days, every student had to have at least 2 Class 1 Monster Cores. For those who reached the Saint level, then they would need 2 Class 2 Monster Cores. The amount of Monster Cores wasn't limited, but whoever got the most Monster Cores would be gifted with a rich reward–an earth attribute Class 4 Monster core as well as a Space Ring.

The reward was so tempting, that if put under the nose of the children from rich backgrounds, even they would become emotionally moved from it.

At the same time, any student that had reached this standard could also access the books about various battle skills and cultivation methods on the library's fourth level. This reward was especially enticing to those from average commoner families.

Battle skills were techniques that could create strong attacks. Along with the distinct uses of Saint Force, it could boost one's power to 120%, making them techniques that would completely surpassed one's original abilities.

On the other hand, cultivation methods could only be used when one reached the Saint level. Some commoner families didn't even know the lowest level cultivation methods and so children born in these families have to rely on the superficial breathing method given to them to cultivate Saint Force. These breathing methods were circulated around the entire Tian Yuan continent. Their steps were extremely simple, so most commoner families knew everything about these methods. The only downside was that these breathing methods could only help them cultivate to the 10th Saint Force layer, and were completely useless to people who had already reached Saint level. Thus, battle skills and cultivation methods were seen as unattainable treasures to commoners.

On Tian Yuan continent, all the battle skills and cultivation methods were divided into four levels: Human Tier, Earth Tier, Heaven Tier and Saint Tier. Every Tier were then split into 3 separate levels: Primary, Middle and Advanced.

After leaving the dorms, Jian Chen headed straight for the sports field. The event had already been announced three days ago and by now, almost all the students had finished their preparations for it by sharpening themselves to the peak of their abilities.

By the time Jian Chen had arrived at the sports field, the place was already swarming with people. However, it was still obvious to see that the people were split into two groups; one of the groups was a gathering of all the nobles and the other group was entirely made up of commoners who did not have any major backgrounds.

All the students that had not yet reached Saint level were holding a steel weapon that were glistering under the sun. Since they were facing beasts, the school administration had allowed them to choose their own weapons.

Jian Chen walked over to the weapons rack. However, when he saw all the weapons there, his brows could not help but knit together. The good weapons had pretty much all been chosen by the students already and the only ones remaining that were of decent quality were the heavy type weapons that required a lot of strength to use; they were not at all compatible with Jian Chen.

Jian Chen swept a glance over the entire weapons rack. When he noticed a fractured iron rod that was about the thickness of his finger, his eyes suddenly lit up. He exerted all his strength to pull it out, only to discover that the iron rod was about three inches long and its surface was already completely covered in dark yellow rust marks. One of the ends had an extremely sharp point.

Jian Chen weighed the rusted iron rod in his hands and then tested its sturdiness, before nodding in satisfaction. This iron rod seemed somewhat unsuitable at a glance, but its heaviness and length were compatible with Jian Chen and amongst the remaining weapons, only this iron rod would be able to bring out most of Jian Chen's abilities.

At this moment, Tie Ta walked out from the crowd. On his back was an enormous axe that was practically as large as him. It made Tie Ta seem even more impressive and powerful.

Tie Ta walked up to Jian Chen and his gaze rested on the stained iron rod in Jian Chen's hands. His eyes could not help but show confusion as he asked, "Hai, Changyang Xiang Tian, what are you doing with an iron rod?"

Jian Chen laughed, "What else could I do with it, of course its to be used as a weapon."

"No way, Changyang Xiang Tian, you're actually using this lousy iron rod as a weapon? You….you….is your brain ok?" Tie Ta asked in shock.

Jian Chen chuckled and did not explain any further.

Although Tie Ta could not understand why Jian Chen would use such a lousy iron rod as a weapon, he did not continue to pursue this question. Instead, he said, "Changyang Xiang Tian, how about the two of us team-up? If we join hands, then none of the Class 1 magical beasts can obstruct us. We would even be able to overwhelm a Class 2 magical beast. Moreover, I've been hunting wild beasts in these types of forests since I was young, and I've gradually learned quite a bit of experience about surviving in the wild. If you're together with me, I promise that you won't have any hardships."

Jian Chen considered it for a while. Finally, he nodded his head in agreement at Tie Ta's offer. The school did not prohibit students from forming groups of 3-5 people to kill the magical beasts, so many students ended up moving together as small groups.

At that moment, a handsome noble carrying an arrogant air walked up to Tie Ta and smiled, "Hello Tie Ta, my name is Xiu Mi Si. I'm at the peak of the 10th Saint Force layer. Do you want to become partners with me? I believe that if we join hands, hunting magical beasts will be much easier for us both."

Tie Ta glanced at Xiu Mi Si and shook his head, "No need, Changyang Xiang Tian and I together are enough. We don't need anymore people to join."

Faced with Tie Ta's rejection, Xiu Mi Si did not show any despair. He turned to look at Jian Chen, and his face immediately turned haughty, "This person must be Changyang Xiang Tian, the fourth lord from Lore City's Changyang clan. My father is the leader of the Xiu Mi clan in Forbidden City. Does junior Changyang Xiang Tian welcome me into your group?" Although Xiu Mi Si's words were still in a relatively respectful tone, his words hid a threatening force behind them.

Forbidden City was a King City, and when it came to the Gesun Kingdom, Forbidden City was considered to be an Imperial City because the Imperial Palace was situated in Forbidden City.

Hearing the forcefulness behind Xiu Mi Si's words, Jian Chen knit his brows. He swept his gaze over Xiu Mi Si's handsome face, and coldly replied, "I apologize, but we no longer need any additional people. After all, we're only facing Class 1 magical beasts, so we don't have the time to spare babysitting others."

Hearing this, Xiu Mi Si immediately turned the color of pig liver. His face darkened at Jian Chen's meaning, and it was obvious that Jian Chen was looking down on Xiu Mi Si's abilities.

Xiu Mi Si's face grew stormy, and he maliciously glared at Jian Chen's indifferent expression, before coldly snorting and walking away.

After Xiu Mi Si left, quite a few people from complex backgrounds approached. These people did not want to greet Tie Ta, but only wanted to join his group. However, all of them were rejected. Tie Ta had no feelings for any of this people, and he was unwilling to interact much with them.

After everyone had left, a youth around 20 years old, with a tall and sturdy stature, not very different from Tie Ta's, walked over from the distance. He walked straight towards Jian Chen, and reached his hand out to strongly pat Jian Chen's shoulder and laughed, "Fourth brother, you've become the school's celebrity now. Amongst all of Kargath Academy's students, I'm sure that at this point, there is nobody that doesn't know of your reputation. Not bad, not bad. You haven't lost Changyang clan's face, and your older brother has been able to draw on some of your spotlight too." The sturdy youth was Jian Chen's older brother, Changyang Hu. He was currently sporting an extremely happy expression, and it was clear that his excitement was genuine.

Jian Chen smiled, "Big brother, stop joking around. Oh right, you've come at a perfect time. Why don't we join groups for this event?"

Changyang Hu shook his head as he seemed to have thought of something. He happily replied, "Fourth brother, if you had asked me a week ago, perhaps your older brother would have agreed to form a group with you. However, I can't right now, because a week ago, your brother finally broke through to the Saint level, thus becoming a Saint. This means that during today's event, I will be entering the third layer to kill Class 2 magical beasts, so I can't be together with you." While saying this, a powerful Saint Force was emitted from Changyang Hu's body, his hands glowing with a yellow light, forming a large, double-edged battleaxe. The battleaxe was about as large as a washbasin, and gave off a yellow glow.

"Fourth brother, not bad, right? After I broke through to Saint level, I was shocked to discover that I actually have the earth attribute," Changyang Hu said proudly. Saints that had attributes normally had huge advantages when fighting Saints without attributes. If the two had the exact same levels of strength and fought each other, under normal circumstances, the Saint with attributes would ultimately be the victor.

A person could only discover if their Saint Force had attributes after breaking through to the Saint level. Thus, anyone that had not yet become a Saint were not able to detect if their Saint Force had attributes or not. However, the chances of having an attributed Saint Force were extremely low. On average, 1 out of 1000 Saints could use attributes in their Saint Force.

In addition, pretty much all of the ones gathered in Kargath Academy were the ones that had the highest potential in all of Gesun Kingdom. That's why it was perfectly normal for many Saints to have attributed Saint Force amongst a group of a thousand students.

Seeing the double-edged battleaxe in Changyang Hu's hands, Jian Chen could not help but happily smile, "Big Brother, congratulations for successfully breaking through and becoming a Saint. You even have an attribute."

Changyang Hu's expression was extremely happy, and he reached his hand to point at a few youths that were with him, "That's right, fourth brother, I must introduce these people to you. These are the relatively outstanding children directly under my command. Their names are Changyang Ao Jian, Changyang Feng, and Changyang Xiao Tian."

"We greet the fourth master!" The three youths simultaneously bent over in greeting, their attitudes extremely respectful. The hierarchy in the Changyang clan was extremely strict, so although they were the more outstanding members of the Changyang clan, their statuses were much lower than Jian Chen's. Even though they were all older than Jian Chen, they still had to treat Jian Chen with a respectful manner.

Moreover, while saluting the younger Jian Chen, the three of them did not feel any traces of unfairness; on the contrary, they actually felt a sense of pride. After all, Jian Chen had managed to defeat the Saint, Ka Di Yun, when he was only at the 8th Saint Force layer, and had managed to fight to a standstill while bare-handed against Luo Jian. Finally, he had even forced Luo Jian to use his Saint Weapon. All of Jian Chen's achievements made the entire Kargath Academy sigh in admiration.

In the presence of the other members of the Changyang Clan, they couldn't help but feel proud. Not just because Jian Chen was a member of their clan, but that because he was the fourth lord of the Changyang Clan.

After Jian Chen introduced Tie Ta to his older brother Changyang Hu and talked for a while before being split up by the vice headmaster Bai En.

After the headmaster Bai En had made a speech, he had the rest of the students clean up a bit before taking away everyone's Space Ring in order to prevent people from storing their own monster cores within it. He gave them a cheap Space Belt to compensate, a single one of these belts weren't all that expensive and were actually a very common item so the academy could afford to hand out a thousand of them.

The space within the belt was very small as well, and could only hold up to a meter squared. However, it was sufficient for holding monster cores, for now, each belt held a small amount of medication just in case of an injury.

Once all of the preparations were complete, all 1000 students left the academy in a grand exit. Heading for the forest 20 miles away, a few dozen teachers accompanied them. Their mission was to split up in the forest and rescue any student in a life threatening situation with the vice headmaster Bai En to lead the group.

After exiting from the academy, everyone's speed gradually picked up. Since the weakest student amongst them was around the 8th Saint Force Layer, the speed could definitely be faster, although they were already traveling at very fast speeds.

After two hours of traveling, everyone finally reached the outskirts of the forest where they could all see a faint white light illuminating from within.

Jian Chen looked strangely at the white light that covered the forest,he had read many books in the library, so he understood the reason behind the white light.

300 years ago, this place had been a grassy wasteland with no forest in sight. Using 1000 people from Kargath, they finally developed the area and after 1 year of work, a forest was created. Although at that time, the area of the forest was only 50 kilometers. After hundreds of years, the forest had developed into what it was today.

After the forest had grown, Kargath Academy's headmaster Brian personally spent 3 days and 3 nights in the forest and enshrouded it in light before splitting it into 3 regions. Each region had a strong enchantment on it, and in the middle of the forest the headmaster had released weaker magical beasts to breed so that they would create stronger magical beasts for the students from the academy to learn to fight.

Headmaster Brian had created this forest for the geniuses of Gesun Kingdom and expended a great amount of effort creating the forest. However, the headmaster Brian had long since retired, having another person take his role.

At that moment, the headmaster walked on over and said, "Dear students, starting from today, you will have to survive in the forest for 3 days and have to hand over two monster cores at the very least. If you give up halfway or do not obtain two monster cores, then that will be considered as a loss and you will not be rewarded." His clear voice was transmitted to every student's ear.

"Right now, everyone will be separated. Those students who aren't a Saint may partner up with someone in the second region to hunt for monster cores. For those students who are Saints, please make your way towards the 3rd region."

Afterwards, everyone started to scatter while Jian Chen and Tie Ta naturally walked together. Because the area was enchanted against magical beasts, everyone who entered this area would not be attacked by any magical beast.

As they entered the enchanted area, Jian Chen and Tie Ta were both already in the first region. The first region had beasts with very weak strength, so weak that they would be no match for a Class 1 Magical Beast. When it came to weak beasts like these, the entire Tian Yuan Continent just called them wild beasts, and it was only when they reached the first class that they would be considered a Magical Beast.

All 1000 students entered at the same time, scaring the wild animals into a sense of submission and made the trip relatively peaceful. Quickly the students all made it through the enchantments and into the second region. All of the monsters in this area were Class 1 Magical Beasts, so for those who weren't a Saint, even a Class 1 Magical Beast could pose a threat to them.

Entering the 2nd region, Tie Ta and Jian Chen broke away from the rest of the students and headed for the dense parts of the forests. All around them were weeds that were as tall as a person and majorly impacted their vision. Not able to see see the road, they could only look down and track the footprints left behind by the magical beasts.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, from here on out magical beasts will be appearing often, we definitely can't be careless." Tie Ta said with a solemn face. He had been hunting in forests for magical beasts since he was young, so it could be said that he had a rich experience about them. He also understood the dangers that lived within the forests, and if one wasn't careful, then they would lose their life easily.

Jian Chen's face contained a look of conviction, "Don't worry, even if you run into trouble, it doesn't mean that I'll run into trouble." With the memories from his previous world, he did not take this forest lightly. In his previous life, he had often traveled through forests, and his experience was even more extensive when it came to forests when compared to Tie Ta. Combined with the fact that Jian Chen had read up on magical beasts in a book, he learned a great deal about the magical beasts in the forest.

Tie Ta held onto his giant battleaxe as he watched around himself with no small amount of vigilance. "Although I've killed many beasts in the past, I've never killed a Magical Beast. They have the same strength of a Saint, so even if one was a Saint, it wouldn't be a definite kill. I'm not sure if we would be able to kill a Class 1 Magical Beast if we come across one, and if by chance one runs away, we won't be able to catch up."

Jian Chen smiled and said, "Tie Ta, could it be you don't have that much faith in your own strength?"

Tie Ta's face started to redden as he scratched his head. With a honest answer, he said, "It's not that, I have faith in my own strength. My teacher even said that my strength was strong enough to defeat the regular Saint. But I've never killed a Class 1 Magical Beast, let alone seen one…"

While Tie Ta was speaking, Jian Chen's face went rigid before bringing his hand up to stop him from talking. His eyes narrowed slightly as he started to look around.

Noticing how Jian Chen suddenly became serious, Tie Ta realized that danger was approaching. Holding his battleaxe in front of him, he cautiously looked around at the surrounding grass.

Jian Chen stared around himself for the most potential spot of danger, but the grass had been growing unhindered and healthy for years and obstructed his view; so Jian Chen wasn't able to see anything.

Jian Chen's right hand clenched onto the iron rod in his hand as he blinked once. His ears started to shake as he strained to listen to his surroundings.

A few deep breaths later, Jian Chen suddenly opened his eyes to reveal a bright glow to them. Straight away, Jian Chen stamped forwards with the corroded iron rod in his right hand starting to exude a bright yellow glow. Just like lightning, the rod shot forward with a whooshing sound.

At the same time, a green stick suddenly flew forward from the grass like a bullet and quickly approached Jian Chen with frightening speeds.

In midair, Jian Chen's rod and the green stick collided with each other, causing the green branch to stop moving. As it slowly stopped, Jian Chen saw that the iron point of the rod had pierced straight through the body of it.

At that moment, the two of them suddenly realized that the stick was actually a green viper. It was as thick as an adult's arm, and the part of it that was currently visible was 2 meters long.

A powerful wind rushed past Jian Chen's ear, as he saw Tie Ta swipe his large battleaxe towards the viper with an ear-splitting noise.

The large battleaxe slashed at the viper's body, and its power was so strong that the viper was flung almost 10 meters backwards before it fell to the ground with a soft noise. However, the weeds around their current location grew so lush that, putting aside 10 meters, Jian Chen and Tie Ta could barely see 5 meters ahead of them.

"Hurry up and chase after it. We cannot let it hide itself." Jian Chen clearly understood how unfavorable the situation was for them. His body flashed as he chased after the viper at high speeds. Under these circumstances, if the viper managed to carefully hide away from sight, then the two of them would be in huge trouble. After all, every step in front of them was covered with weeds, and it was difficult to see anything on the ground. It would be extremely difficult to defend against the viper if it prepared to lie in wait.

Without any hesitation, Tie Ta ran towards the direction that Jian Chen had raced in. Once Tie Ta caught up with Jian Chen, Jian Chen had already stopped moving. About 3 meters away, that viper had lifted its head up high, its ice-cold eyes looking at them, its forked tongue flicking in and out.

When the viper lifted its body, it was 1.5 meters tall. Its body, which was as thick as an adult's arm, had two wounds on it. One of them was the bloody hole that Jian Chen had left; it was so deep that the viper's bone could be seen. The other was the long wound that Tie Ta had left; it stretched down the viper's thick body. The outside of the wound was a mess of flesh, with fresh, red blood pouring down ceaselessly from it.

Jian Chen's eyes cautiously followed the viper's movements. Although the viper in front of them was a species with relatively weak attack, it was still a Class 1 Magical Beast. Its power would not be any weaker than a Saint that had already condensed his Saint Weapon.

Tie Ta looked at the viper with a serious expression. The veins on his hands popped out as he gripped his battleaxe tightly, prepared to attack with all his strength at any moment.

While both parties were in a deadlock, Jian Chen finally acted. The short 3 meter distance was nothing to him, and with a sway of his body, Jian Chen had already covered 2 meters of distance. In an instant, he appeared in front of the viper. The iron rod in his hand made an ear-piercing cry as it was thrust forward faster than the naked eye could see, headed straight for the viper that was currently seven inches away.

The viper gave a rough cry as it nimbly darted its body to the side to evade the fatal blow.

Despite this, that corroded iron rod still managed to deeply pierce a hole through its body, the sharp tip poking out through its other side.

"Si!" The strong pain made the green viper cry out hoarsely, its mouth open wide.

"Yahei!" Tie Ta's movements were quick, as he used all his strength to slash his battleaxe down hard towards the viper's head.

The battleaxe passed through the fist-sized viper's head, sending it flying high up into the air. A rain of blood fell down, and fresh blood crazily spurted out from the wound on its green body. In an instant, the surrounding weeds were covered in red.

Looking at the detached head spin through the air as the body spasmed spraying blood, Tie Ta's face was full of alarm. At this moment they had easily killed a Class 1 Magical Beast, allowing himself to feel more confident about his strength. The cyan colored viper hadn't even made Tie Ta expend a great amount of his energy at all.

Jian Chen slowly separated the body of the viper from the iron rod and wiped the blood onto the surrounding grass. It had actually been Jian Chen who contributed the most in killing the Class 1 Magical Beast; if it were not for his lightning quick thrust through the viper's body and dealing it a huge wound as it was pierced, then Tie Ta's battleaxe would not have been able to sever the snake's head.

Recollecting his battleaxe, Tie Ta's face looked at the detached head proudly while stepping on the viper's dead carcass. "Changyang Xiang Tian, this is a Class 1 Magical beast? How weak it was!"

Jian Chen laughed as he heard Tie Ta, "It's not that the magical beasts are weak, it's because us two combined are too strong. Besides, this Class 1 Magical Beast wouldn't give much trouble for even a person who just recently broke through to becoming a Saint."

Tie Ta returned Jian Chen's smile and wiped his battleaxe dry from the blood. Bringing it to his shoulder, he let loose a laugh and said, "If you say that, then doesn't that mean we can casually walk around and kill Class 1 Magical Beasts?"

It looked as if Jian Chen had came to a realization as his face revealed a joyful smile, "Not bad, with our two strengths, even if we were to fight against a Class 1 Magical Beast by ourselves we would be able to kill it easily. But if we were to join together, then no magical beast in the 2nd region would be able to bring us trouble. The magical beasts here aren't strong because the academy had meant for them to be for students to help pick up battle experience. There won't be any strong magical beasts here, except…" He trailed off in thought.

Jian Chen's silence caused Tie Ta to pause, "Except what…"

"Unless we come across a group of magical beasts. However, we still don't know what's here or not." Jian Chen's face was serious as he spoke. With his strength, Jian Chen would not find any problems if he came across a Class 1 Magical Beast, but if he came across a whole group of them, then there would be no way at all.

Tie Ta wrinkled his eyebrows together and said uncertainly, "That shouldn't be likely. I've been in the forests many times and never saw a whole bunch of magical beasts together."

"It's not for sure we won't, I've read up in the library on books pertaining to magical beasts. There are a few types of magical beasts that all live in a group together. Together, their power is strong and very rarely do they travel by themselves." Jian Chen walked over to where the decapitated snake head was and only then did he realized that the viper was only 6 to 7 meters long. Using the iron rod to cut 7 meters in, he took out the rod from the viper's body to reveal a bloody crystal.

Within the Tian Yuan continent, there were many different types of monster cores, while their monster cores were not at all like each other. Some magical beasts had their monster core in the head, some in the pit of their stomachs, and some in their abdomen. The viper for example had its monster core within it's tail, but Jian Chen had already known that a long time ago.

"Peng!" Tie Ta brought down the battle axe on his shoulder into a tree. It sunk into the tree as smoothly like water in a bucket before he cried out loudly, "If there really are magical beasts that are in a group, I Tie Ta will definitely kill them all!"

Jian Chen held the monster core he got from the cyan viper and rubbed it clean of blood with the nearby grass. Throwing it to Tie Ta, he said, "Alright, there's no need to yell. There's a lot of magical beasts that travel in herds in the Tian Yuan continent, but it doesn't mean we'll meet up with one for sure. Nothing is for sure, after all, this is the magical beast forest."

Tie Ta snatched the monster core thrown at him and looked at Jian Chen weirdly, "What are you doing giving this to me?"

Jian Chen laughed, "The viper was slain by you, so this monster core is yours by rights." Seeing Tie Ta trying to find a way to find a reason against this, Jian Chen continued to say, "This monster core is yours, don't say otherwise. Just take it. After all we still have 3 more days, at our current rate we'll definitely be able to get a lot more, so I don't really care for this one monster core."

"Haha, okay then. I'll be taking this monster core. The next monster core will be yours no matter who kills it then." Holding the bloodstained monster core high up in the air, Tie Ta was extremely happy. Though that was for sure since this was the first monster core he had gotten after killing a Class 1 Magical Beast.

Afterwards, the two of them continued on their way. Now that he knew that Jian Chen had an acute sense for detecting danger, Tie Ta had simply handed the patrolling duties to Jian Chen. On the other hand, he began to ceaselessly hack at the grass in front of them to clear their path. Although constantly waving the heavy battleaxe around expended a great amount of energy, it was as simple as eating a meal to Tie Ta, who had godly strength. To him, this action wasn't the slightest bit taxing; after all, his strength was great enough to frighten others, and he seemed to have infinite amounts of energy as well. Thus, it was impossible for him to become exhausted in a situation like this.

Not long after the two had left, Jian Chen's ears twitched, and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He stretched his hand out towards Tie Ta, who was currently slashing at the grass in front of them, and gestured at him to be silent.

Tie Ta intuitively understood the situation, and stopped his attempt at hacking through the weeds. Tightly gripping the battleaxe, he returned to Jian Chen's side, and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Tie Ta's eyes flashed, as he inspected their surroundings with caution.

Their breathing became very faint, as their expressions were filled with caution. The difference between the two was that Tie Ta was constantly looking around, while Jian Chen had gently closed his eyes in attempt to sense everything around them.

It was currently extremely difficult to discern anything among the grass. Even if there really was an unknown danger lurking around, it would unfortunately not be something that one could use the naked eye to see. Thus, Tie Ta could not discover anything despite sweeping his gaze around all four corners for a long period of time.

Jian Chen lightly closed his eyes, his keen ears twitching periodically as they tried to catch all noises coming from his surroundings. At the same time, his consciousness also reached new heights, and he used his powerful "Soul" to reach out and sense the world around him.

At that moment, Jian Chen could not help but recall one of his fights against Dugu Qiubai. Eventually, just as he was about to die, his powers had suddenly broken through and reached the Realm of the Sword God. At that moment, his "soul" had became incomparably strong and could even manifest it outside his body into the surrounding air. Whenever he spread his "soul" out into an area, then there would be no way anyone or anything inside would be able to escape his perception.

However, what made Jian Chen feel regret was that after entering this world, although his soul was extremely powerful, he could no longer extend it outwards. Otherwise, this dense forest would not give Jian Chen any difficulties at all. Searching for a hidden magical beast would be extremely easy.

Jian Chen's soul densely concentrated together, and he exerted all his efforts to sense his surroundings. Slowly, his spirit entered a unique state; although he had not extended his soul, at that instant, his soul seemed to have established a subtle relationship with the various plants around him, fusing together. This feeling was extremely mysterious.

However, as soon as Jian Chen entered this state, he senses immediately shot up to new levels. Finally, a barely discernable breathing sound entered his sensing range. The breath was so faint that even if one stood next to it, one most likely wouldn't have been able to hear it.

In an instant, Jian Chen's opened his eyes, and in a flash, he had already disappeared from his original location, and was flying towards the side at high speeds. While moving, Jian Chen constantly twisted and adjusted his body to evade the branches obstructing his path.

In an instant, Jian Chen had already crossed over a distance of 10 meters. He quickly thrusted out the iron rod in his hands at lightning fast speed, silently cutting away the surrounding leaves and weeds, the tip aimed towards the the black figure hiding within the grass.

"Ao!"

A shriek of pain suddenly rang out, as a dark shadow jumped out from the grass, leaping towards Jian Chen with its ferocious mouth wide open.

This was a black panther, around 2 meters long. Its head had an open wound where fresh blood was pouring out from. The blood flowed down through the black fur on its face, intensifying its fierce appearance.

Jian Chen's gaze was as sharp as a sword as a sneer began to form on his face. He shook his arm, and once again lashed out with the iron rod in his hand at an unfathomable speed, his objective being the black panther's neck. Up until the end, the black panther had absolutely no time to react, as the iron rod's sharp point plunged deeply through its throat. In addition, since the black panther's body was currently lunging in the air, its heavy body quickly dropped downwards, pushing the iron rod deeper and deeper through its neck. Eventually, the point had drilled a hole directly through, and the end had come out of the other side.

This time, the black panther didn't even have the time to cry out before it had already died. It fell to the ground with its eyes wide open, grief instilled in its gaze.

At that moment, Tie Ta finally caught up from behind. When he looked over at the ground, he saw the corroded iron rod pierced through the black panther's throat. Immediately, his eyes widened in extreme shock.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, this….this….did you kill this?" Tie Ta's voice was trembling in shock. Even though he had witnessed the moment that Jian Chen's weapon had pierced through the black panther's throat, he still couldn't believe the scene no matter how hard he tried. That was because the period of time that had passed was way too short; when Jian Chen had charged over, Tie Ta had already followed behind at his fastest speed. However, by the time he had caught up, all he saw was the Class 1 Magical Beast dying by Jian Chen's hands. The amount of time that had passed was definitely not even long enough to take a breath, or even half a breath.

Being able to kill a Class 1 Magical Beast in half a breath's time was natural for some professionals. However, Tie Ta clearly knew that Jian Chen's abilities had not yet reached Saint level. Moreover, the weapon he was using was a mere corroded iron rod.

Jian Chen placed his foot on the black panther's head, and gradually pulled out the iron rod. As if nothing had happened, he said, "That's right, I killed it. However, it was just a coincidence. Originally, there was no way it would've died so quickly. However, it kept approaching my weapon, and in the end, its life was extinguished before it could even cry out in despair."

Hearing this, Tie Ta rubbed the back of his head, and doubtfully glanced at Jian Chen's indifferent face. In disbelief, he asked, "Is that true? You're not lying to me?"

Jian Chen laughed, "Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?"

Seeing Jian Chen's sincere expression, Tie Ta was beyond puzzled, and muttered, "Do such stupid magical beasts really exist, to actually give itself up to a weapon?"

Taking out the black panther's monster core, Jian Chen and Tie Ta continued on their trip to kill magical beasts.

To easily kill a Class 1 Magical Beast while not having the strength of a Saint was something that any new student would have said was an incomparably difficult task. Life threatening dangers could happen at any time, but to Jian Chen and Tie Ta, it was almost as if they were playing a game. The 2nd region was like a treasure trove of monster cores for those two.

The day passed quickly and nightfall came, both Jian Chen and Tie Ta found an open area in the forest to camp out in. Between them was a campfire with a fire that pulsed as it illuminated the pitch blackness. The two boy's shadows danced behind their backs, making their reflections seem like devils threatening each other.

The darkness surrounded them from all four corners, and if they were to go outside the range of the bright fire, then they wouldn't even be able to see their own hands in front of their faces in the darkness. It wasn't that peaceful however, as somewhere in the distant forest, a magical beast could be heard howling away. Just the sound of it would terrify anyone, and for someone who was absolutely scared already, the sound would cause them to be scared stiff.

Tie Ta turned the monster core in his hand over the fire, causing the light of the fire to shine on it. One look at the two boys revealed that their clothes were not in great condition and were splattered with blood.

The blood was all from Magical Beasts while their clothes had been cut open due to the thorny shrubbery.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, you're really awesome! I didn't think that you would be able to wield a corroded iron rod to such an amazing degree, all of the magical beasts we fought against today were killed by you! It was only the initial viper from earlier that I managed to kill." Tie Ta exclaimed as he heaped praise onto Jian Chen.

Jian Chen's face had a big smile on it, "I only took a chance when I saw one, if it weren't for you dealing out damage with your axe, then it would have been even harder to kill those magical beasts."

Tie Ta laughed, his heart finally taking comfort in his words, "Changyang Xiang Tian, could you tell me, how is it that you're able to tell if we're near a magical beast or not?" Tie Ta was naturally very curious about this, the whole day he had been puzzling over it, but it was only now that he found the perfect time to ask.

Jian Chen didn't bother to hide anything and instead pointed at his ear and head, "I used this and this."

Tie Ta looked at Jian Chen point at his ears and head in a curious way before asking, "You use your ears to listen and your mind to think?"

"You're only half correct!" Jian Chen took the iron rod by his side and began to polish it on a small chunk of rock. Absent mindedly responding, he said, "Aside from relying on my ears to listen, I use my spirit to feel my surroundings. However, this method would be too difficult for you to do."

"Oh!" Tie Ta nodded his head in understanding while thinking it over in his head.

Jian Chen felt the fine point of the iron rod before putting it down. Grabbing onto his Space Belt, he said, "Tie Ta, let us check out our earnings from today." Shaking his Space Belt, the stored monster cores began to fall out.

One after another, monster cores started to drop out from the space belt and gradually the spot in front of Jian Chen began to pile up with monster cores until it was a foot high.

Tie Ta followed suit and started to shake his own Space Belt. In the end, a small mountain piled up in front of him as well.

"I have 48 monster cores here." Jian Chen laughed, his profits for today had been huge.

"I have 49 here, I've beat you by one." Tie Ta was extremely happy, he had never seen this many cores before. This was a first for him, since he had never even seen a single monster core before. To Tie Ta who was born in a common household, these monster cores had a huge price tag on them despite all of the cores being Class 1.

"For the first day to be this profitable, not bad! I don't know how many monster cores we'd need in order to be the ones with the most monster cores. After all, the prize is quite rich; a Class 4 Monster Core and a Space Ring." Even Jian Chen had been tempted by the prizes, he really wanted that Class 4 Monster Core, the energy inside would be many times stronger than a Class 1 Monster Core.

At this moment, Jian Chen's eye suddenly grew dark as he whispered, "Quickly store all of the monster cores, people are coming." After saying that, he immediately started to store all of the cores into his belt and put it back on.

Tie Ta moved quickly as well, the moment he heard Jian Chen start, he had already started to store all of the monster cores. Tie Ta had finished by the time Jian Chen did.

After the two had stored their monster cores away, after a few nervous breaths, the distant grass moved to the side with a rustling sound as a very thin person came walking out. The moment the person saw both Tie Ta and Jian Chen sitting by a fire, a look of surprise came over their face before suddenly letting loose a cry of joy. It was a weak little lady holding onto a rice straw for support who came stumbling over.

"I finally found someone, I finally found someone! I beg of you, please don't leave me behind. I'm afraid, really really afraid. The magical beasts want to eat me…" The person's voice was fairly frantic and was full of panic; however, her voice was still gentle somehow.

Hearing her, Jian Chen and Tie Ta then realized the person in front of them was a girl as the fire behind them illuminated her body, showing her Kargath Academy uniform to the both of them. However, the uniform had been cut open by the branches and thorns, some parts of her body could already be seen underneath and even her underwear could be seen poking out. The uniform itself was muddy as if she had fallen multiple times.

The girl's face was dirty with mud to the point where her appearance couldn't even be seen clearly. However, on her face could be seen evidence of her crying as she pleadingly looked at Jian Chen. Looking at the pitiful sight, there was nothing but helplessness reflected in her eyes.

"Sit down." Jian Chen tried to make himself as kind as possible, looking at her situation, he had guessed what type of trouble had taken place. In this environment, even the most reckless of boys would feel horrified, let alone a little girl.

Seeing that the person was actually a pretty girl, Tie Ta's guard loosened. Carefully putting down the battle axe in his hands, he looked at the girl curiously.

Jian Chen calmly looked at the young girl, and asked, "Can you tell me what your name is?"

"My…my name is Liang Xiaole," The young girl stuttered back. Seeing both Jian Chen's and Tie Ta's eyes flash, she could not help but feel fear, as well as some faint traces of concern and insecurity.

"Why is a lady like you not with others? If you're so afraid, why would you walk through this forest alone? Just a few random sounds have even scared you to such an extent," Tie Ta asked in a muffled voice.

Liang Xiaole looked at Tie Ta timidly before she said quietly, "I came here with a few friends at first, but unfortunately we came across a magical beast. That magical beast was quite strong, and my group of friends weren't able to beat it. Soon after most of us were injured and we all scattered to run away, but I got lost."

Hearing this, Tie Ta began to choke on his own saliva before saying, "Even with a group you were unable to beat a Class 1 Magical Beast? How useless, just Changyang Xiang Tian and I have already killed over 100 magical beasts today." A proud look came over his face as he remembered that fact.

"Gululu!"

At that moment, a strange sound suddenly rang out. In an instant, Jian Chen and Tie Ta both directed their gazes to the origin of the sound. It turned out to be Liang Xiaole's stomach, which at the moment, still would not stop grumbling loudly.

"You must be hungry," Jian Chen smiled.

"Yes!" Liang Xiaole nodded in embarrassment, and delicately said, "I haven't eaten all day." The corner of her eyes could not help but light up as she glanced at the bonfire, where the finely cooked, golden magical beast meat was currently dripping with rich oils. She greedily inhaled its aroma, but the more she did this, the louder her stomach grumbled. Eventually, both Jian Chen and Tie Ta could only hear rumbling sounds in their ears.

Jian Chen smiled. He picked up the skewer with the magical meat on it, and unafraid of the heat, directly used his hand to tear off a large chunk of the meat. Handing it over to Liang Xiaole, he said, "Go on and eat this. Be careful it's hot though."

Liang Xiaole twisted her hands, and ripped the corners of her clothes to wipe clean the dirt on her hands. Tenderly, she reached over to receive the magical beast meat. Once it had cooled down, she directly ate it with large mouthfuls, not caring to keep up her appearance in the least.

Liang Xiaole was probably starving, because after she quickly finished that large piece of meat, she still gazed at the remaining piece with a wistful look in her eyes.

Jian Chen smiled, and ripped off another large chunk of magical beast meat. He handed it over to Liang Xiaole and said, "Go ahead and eat this."

Seeing the piece of magical beast meat that had placed in front of her, Liang Xiaole hesitated for a bit, and in the end, still didn't reach out to receive it. Instead, she gazed at Jian Chen and Tie Ta and softly asked, "If I finish it, what will you guys eat?"

Tie Ta laughed, "Don't worry, we still have another one left. Look under that tree." As he said this, Tie Ta extended a finger to point in the direction.

Liang Xiaole looked at where Tie Ta was pointing, and sure enough, she noticed that underneath a large tree nearby, an unknown magical beast had fallen to the ground. One of its legs had already disappeared, and the ground was covered with fresh blood marks.

Staring at the magical beast's corpse, Liang Xiaole swallowed hard and said, "You guys are really formidable. To think that the two of you alone could kill a Class 1 Magical Beast."

"Che….What does that mean?" Tie Ta said, completely unperturbed.

The time stealthily flew by. Jian Chen and Tie Ta had finished eating, and were now preparing to rest.

"Hey, where should i sleep?" Liang Xiaole asked with difficulty.

Jian Chen pointed at a large tree not too far away and said, "Go rest on top of that tree. That way, even if magical beasts try to attack in the middle of the night, you won't be harmed."

"Ah, magical beasts still attack during the night?" Liang Xiaole's face turned ashen at these words. Her eyes were filled with fear, and her whole body began to tremble.

"Then what about you guys? Where would you guys go? You can't just leave me behind alone, otherwise I'll definitely be eaten by some savage magical beast," Liang Xiaole asked in a panicked tone. She nervously glanced at Jian Chen and Tie Ta, as if afraid for her life if they ran away and abandoned her.

Jian Chen internally sighed. He really couldn't do anything about the cowardly Liang Xiaole. People like her who had been born and raised in noble families as a precious little girl had never experienced the stormy sea. From birth, she had grown up into a sheltered environment, so encountering any danger drove her heart and mind into disarray.

"Don't worry, we won't go far. We're just going to rest in the other tree over there," Jian Chen said.

Liang Xiaole felt slightly comforted after hearing these words. However, traces of fear still remained in her heart, refusing to go away.

"That damned school, that damned headmaster! Why do they have to force everyone to attend this type of event for no reason at all? Isn't this just deliberately trying to send us to our deaths?" Whenever she thought about how she had gotten into her current situation, Liang Xiaole could not help but start cursing in anger. Eventually her words gradually began to turn into sobs.


	9. Monster Core hunt part 2

During the night, Jian Chen and Tie Ta sat under a tree cultivating. The torch by their side had long since burned out, and in a tree branch 5 or 6 meters above them, was Liang Xiaole. She nervously looked around whenever she heard the howl of a magical beast in the night, she wasn't able to sleep at all.

Liang Xiaole's bright eyes looked down at the cultivating pair, Jian Chen and Tie Ta, as if she was monitoring them. In her eyes, this was a matter of life or death. She did not want to see the two people she had found, after a long time of searching, to abandon her and lose her only type of protection.

At that moment, a light breeze blew through the forest and through the tall grass. Meanwhile, the cross-legged Jian Chen suddenly opened his eyes. Immediately, his eyes grew bright as he stared deep into the tallgrass, before standing up onto the ground with the iron rod in his hand.

Liang Xiaole was confused as she watched Jian Chen stand up. Not knowing what was happening, her heart was suddenly very agitated.

"Hey, what's happening?" Liang Xiaole whispered carefully. In this situation, she didn't dare use a loud voice to speak, for fear of attracting another magical beast.

Jian Chen didn't answer her and instead turned to the still cultivating Tie Ta. "Tie Ta, wake up, some magical beasts are attacking."

"Ah, what did you say? Magical beasts are attacking?" Liang Xiaole became frightened, her face instantly draining of color. Thinking about what was about to happen, her whole body began to shake in fear.

While Tie Ta was cultivating, he didn't dare immerse himself completely, so he still remained on guard while cultivating. Thus, when Jian Chen called for him, Tie Ta immediately woke from his cultivation state and stood up with his battleaxe rested against his shoulder.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, where are the monsters?" He asked as he looked around. He couldn't see any footprints around them, or even hear a single sound.

Jian Chen slowly turned his head as he looked around, "Tie Ta, this time, be careful. This time it isn't a single magical beast, but a group of them."

"A group!" Tie Ta's face immediately changed from careless to surprise, then it hardened into a ready expression.

"Ah! What! A group! It can't be! Hey guys, please don't scare me like that." Hiding in the trees, Liang Xiaole pleaded with them. She would have rather heard a threat from Jian Chen than this.

Jian Chen's eyebrows knitted together before lightly commanding the crying Liang Xiaole, "Could you please be quiet? Do you want to attract magical beasts from all over?"

Jian Chen's command proved to be extremely useful, as Liang Xiaole immediately used her hand to clamp her mouth shut to make sure she didn't say anything.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, how many magical beasts do you think there are?" Tie Ta asked.

"A lot, 10 at the very least. They're all prepared to attack and already have us surrounded." Jian Chen's face was very grave.

Tie Ta's expression grew hard as he heard Jian Chen. If it was just one magical beast, he wouldn't have been worried, three magical beasts and the both of them combined could take them on. But now that there were at least 10 of them; Tie Ta didn't dare to have a swelled head now.

When Liang Xiaole had heard Jian Chen, her already pale face had turned even paler, and her mind was wracked with fear. Only one thought was occurring in her head, "It's over, we're screwed! We're not going to survive this…"

The tall grass began to sway as a cyan colored light appeared in front of them. There was one in every direction, with no less than 50 points of origin. As Jian Chen and Tie Ta looked on amazed, they realized the bright spots of light were actually the eyes of magical beasts, and there were at the very least 20 of them.

"This is a Class 1 Magical Beast Blue Wolf. Tie Ta, if you want to live, hurry and climb up a tree now," Jian Chen said as he looked at the 20 Blue Wolves from all 4 directions.

Tie Ta glared in anger before brandishing his battleaxe, with a heroic voice he said, "Don't worry. Changyang Xiang Tian, there are only 20 Class 1 Magical Beasts, I guarantee they won't take us down."

The moment she heard that there were 20 wolves invading, Liang Xiaole was practically scared to death. At this time, even if she believed in Jian Chen's and Tie Ta's strengths before, she would never believe that their strengths would be able to beat 20 magical beasts, as they hadn't even reached Sainthood yet. Unless one of the school teachers were to come save them now, they wouldn't be able to escape alive.

"Teacher, where are you? Please come save us…" Liang Xiaole looked around in all directions as she pleaded for a teacher to come. She could only trust that the teachers would come to save them now, but it was a shame that there were so many magical beasts, so she was too scared to cry out too loudly. Just in case the magical beasts focused on her.

The 20 Blue Wolves slowly walked towards Jian Chen and Tie Ta, their oily gazes staring attentively at them. It was only when their distance was less than 5 meters away that they stopped moving.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta grabbed onto their respective weapons. Although they were surrounded by 20 magical beasts, neither of the two had a single expression of fear..

"Aooo!"

Suddenly, a Blue Wolf started to cry out into the sky. Immediately afterwards, the 20 wolves surrounding them started to howl as well. Their howls filled the air as they began to overlap with each other, before turning into a large soundwave that targeted a wide area.

Hearing the wolves howl, Liang Xiaole's entire body slipped. Her body fell to the ground as she started to tremble. At this point, her face was entirely drained of blood, and had become a deathly pale shade.

5 kilometers away from Jian Chen, a middle aged male dropped down onto a tree branch. When he heard the howls, his face changed. His previously closed eyes opened as he stared off towards the direction of the sound.

"Not good, that's a pack of Blue Wolves. Judging by the howls there are at least 10 of them. It looks like someone has met up with danger then." The middle aged man's face grew solemn as his hands touched the tree he was standing on. He jumped down from the tree before sprinting off towards the direction of the howls without stopping.

"I hope that I can make it." The middle aged man was anxious, but he was already going at the fastest speed he could possibly go at. The magical beasts in the 2nd area weren't that strong, but the opponents Jian Chen and Tie Ta were facing were Class 1 Magical Beast Blue Wolves; their chances of success weren't looking well.

At the same time, in 3 different places, 3 different people all heard the yell before putting down whatever was in their hands and quickly started to run towards the howl.

The wolves' howl was the signal for the wolves to attack, as the 20 wolves suddenly rushed at Jian Chen and Tie Ta.

"Go die!" Tie Ta snarled as he brought his battle axe up in preparation to strike. He swiped at a nearby wolf with his axe, slamming the axe into its stomach. The wolf cried out with an ear-piercing shriek.

"Peng!"

The Blue Wolf that charged at Tie Ta was immediately cut down by his battleaxe's powerful attack, and it now sported a giant wound on its wolf was sent flying away from the mighty swing; despite it being a Class 1 Magical Beast, it was no match for Tie Ta's strength.

Tie Ta brandished his 100 pound battleaxe with ease as if it wasn't heavy at all. Whenever a Blue Wolf approached, he would send it flying away. Thus, any wolf that got too close to him was sent flying, with a new wound on its body. However, the skin of a Blue Wolf was tough, so even Tie Ta couldn't kill one with ease.

As the wolves approached him at the same time, Jian Chen's eyes instantly grew cold as he dashed forward. In a flash, he brought the sharpened iron rod through the throat of a nearby wolf.

"Puu!"

With some resistance, the iron rod finally pierced through the wolf's hide and bore through the wolf's throat. He took out the rod and tilted his body to the side to dodge the attack of another wolf who jumped at him.

The wolf who had its throat pierced by Jian Chen fell helplessly to the ground, as its four legs spasmed in its final death throes. It couldn't stand up on its legs no matter how much it tried, as bright red blood leaked out from its wound.

The throat was the weak-point for almost every single living thing, and magical beasts were no exception. Right now, since the Blue Wolf had its throat skewered, its life was quickly fading. Even though it was trying to avoid the temptation of death, its struggle would not last long.

Jian Chen relied on the nimbleness of his body to weave in and out of the pack of wolves, and he used his iron rod to leave behind stab wounds wherever he attacked. Despite being surrounded by 10 wolves, Jian Chen had used his strange but unpredictable style of movement to dodge with ease. The sharp teeth and the claws of the wolves couldn't touch him at all, and whenever it had seemed like the wolves would be able to get him, Jian Chen moved out of the way just in time.

The battle hadn't even lasted for more than a few deep breaths before 3 of the wolves had their throats pierced by Jian Chen. As the wolves lost blood, they stumbled to the ground in a final struggle to live, but after one final breath, they died on the ground. Many of the wolves had suffered from multiple wounds, but none of them were fatal, and were focused on the joints of the beasts.

Jian Chen proceeded to travel in between the wolves as the iron rod in his hand continued to stab at them. Not only were his movements swift, but there was a certain grace to them; it was almost as if he was dancing instead of fighting for his life.

On the other side, Tie Ta let loose a snarl and brought his 100 pound battleaxe down through the air, producing an after image thanks to the speed. The few wolves surrounding him were continuously sent flying through the air with exceptionally terrifying wounds. Although the wounds were from Tie Ta's sharp battleaxe, to the Blue Wolves, these injuries would not threaten their lives at all.

Although Tie Ta was looking quite powerful and majestic at this moment, he was not invincible. And with Jian Chen's success so far, Tie Ta's own achievements were nothing much. After all, ever since the start of the battle, Tie Ta had not yet been able to kill a single Blue Wolf.

A mere few seconds passed. Another wolf died by Jian Chen's hands, while countless others were being injured.

The cowering Liang Xiaole didn't hear Tie Ta's or Jian Chen's screams of pain at all. All she could hear was the howling of the Blue Wolves mixed in with whimpers. Because of her curiosity, she fought her fear and looked down on the ground, and her eyes grew wide in shock. She couldn't believe that Jian Chen and Tie Ta were still fighting the Blue Wolves, and she was shocked speechless.

Every single swing from Tie Ta's axe was capable of smashing a wolf into the air with ease. No wolf was able to get close to him because of that, and most of the Blue Wolves were covered with frightening wounds that had covered their entire bodies with blood. Jian Chen, on the other hand, was moving rapidly between the wolves and attacking them from every direction. Whenever he thrusted his iron rod forward, another wolf would be riddled with wounds. His movements were too fast for Liang Xiaole to follow; the only thing she could see was a constant blurs.

She had never experienced such a hair raising bloody spectacle like the one below, but on the outside, her face had already started to regain some color. However, her body had not yet stopped trembling. After all, it was her first time seeing such a bloody mess, and no matter who it was, a person wouldn't be able to take in a sight like this easily their first time.

At that moment, a Blue Wolf took advantage of Tie Ta's lack of attention, and jumped at his shoulder. Using its strong teeth, it bit deeply down on his shoulder and blood started to flow freely from the wound.

The acute pain caused Tie Ta's face to darken as he looked at the Blue Wolf biting at his shoulder. Tie Ta's eye blinked in pain as he looked at the Blue Wolf with a fierce glare. Dropping his battleaxe, his right hand grabbed onto the wolf's head, and with his monstrous strength, he ripped the wolf off his shoulder, leaving behind deep incisions in his skin.

Tie Ta grabbed onto the wolf's snout with both hands, and the veins in his arms swelled up with his muscles. With a furious roar, his hands gripped onto the yelping wolf and tore its head from its body. At the same time, blood splattered everywhere onto Tie Ta, dying him blood red.

Tie Ta's act of strength caused the surrounding wolves to cower in fear, as they watched Tie Ta hold onto the two halves of the wolf's carcass.

But Tie Ta didn't plan to let the wolves get away. Dropping the body, he picked up his battleaxe and sliced down onto another wolf's head.

The wolf tilted its head and dodged Tie Ta's battleaxe. Bringing its head up towards the sky, it let out a great howl before launching itself at him.

Hearing the howl, all of the wolves had their fear dispelled, as they instantly charged at Tie Ta.

Tie Ta sent a kick towards the abdomen of a wolf, sending it flying through the air. The sharp blade of his battleaxe cut into the neck of the wolf. Leaving behind a trail of blood, the wolf flew backwards like a rocket.

After his battleaxe had chopped through the head of a wolf, Tie Ta stopped where he stood. He brandished his battleaxe in a menacing way for the other wolves to see.

"Peng!" A wolf was too late in dodging and was hit by Tie Ta's battleaxe. The wolf was split in two as it gave one last final howl.

After being injured, it looked as if Tie Ta became even stronger. In a flash, he had already killed 2 wolves.

Jian Chen, on the other hand, was still wrestling fiercely with the wolves. Suddenly, a wolf jumped from above, down onto Jian Chen.

Jian Chen immediately turned around and glared at the incoming wolf with his flashing eyes. The iron rod in his hand shot forth like lightning and stabbed deep into the wolf's abdomen, piercing its heart. The moment he felt the rod stop, he immediately pulled it out and then moved away from his position.

The moment he left from his spot, the group of Blue Wolves immediately lunged at him.

The wolf that had been skewered in the heart whimpered as it gave its final breath, and fell down to the ground, spasming before finally becoming still.

The battle persisted for some time, and as time passed, the amount of Blue Wolves that had died by the hands of Jian Chen and Tie Ta grew larger and larger. Gradually, the pressure on the two boys reduced, as the number of Blue Wolves dwindled.

Jian Chen pulled out his iron rod from another wolf's throat; he had already killed over 10 Blue Wolves, yet his clothes were relatively unstained by the blood.

Jian Chen looked to Tie Ta only to see 7 or 8 Blue Wolves left; however, each of the 8 wolves were already bloody, as if they had been bathed in blood. His already ragged clothing was becoming even worse, and was almost like a strip of cloth now. His clothes were no longer protecting his body, and instead revealed his chest underneath. Even the trousers had rips in parts, with blood dripping from the wounds beneath it.

Without any hesitation, Jian Chen rushed towards Tie Ta and immediately started to fight off the 8 wolves with his iron rod.

Because Tie Ta had gave the wolves many heavy injuries in a long battle, the wolves were all exhausted beyond relief, so Jian Chen's job was relatively easy. Without expending much energy, he ended their lives by accurately piercing each of the wolves' throats.

After the invasion of the pack of wolves, even Jian Chen couldn't help but breathe hard. Even though he was not weak at all, he had used up the majority of his energy to fight against the pack of wolves.

Tie Ta let out a long sigh as he looked at the pile of dead bodies around him. On his face was a happy smile; although they had just fought a long and hard battle, he didn't show a single trace of exhaustion. Instead, his fighting spirit was awakened.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, let's kill the rest of the Class 1 Magical Beasts." Tie Ta laughed. In his lifetime, he had never killed a Class 1 Magical Beast before, so it was natural that he was excited.

Jian Chen smiled as well before looking at the wounds on Tie Ta, "You're hurt, how bad is it?"

Tie Ta looked down on his body to inspect his wounds before saying, "It's no problem. Although the bites hurt, they're mostly superficial wounds. Hehe, my skin has been thick since I was small, so regular beasts could never bite me before."

Jian nodded his head in understanding with a thoughtful face. He knew about Tie Ta's strength and vitality first hand. Tie Ta was even stronger than a steel bar, so the Blue Wolves must've been ferocious to bite through his skin.

"Ah, that's right, Changyang Xiang Tian, are you hurt?" Tie Ta asked with concern as he looked at Jian Chen.

Jian Chen shook his head, "Don't worry, the wolves didn't hurt me at all." He shifted his stare to the tall grass and said loudly, "Haven't you seen enough, how long do you plan on hiding there?"

Hearing Jian Chen, Tie Ta went blank for a second as he was puzzled by what Jian Chen was saying. But he soon figured it out and immediately grabbed onto his battleaxe with both his hands.

"Who's hiding over? Hurry up and come out otherwise I'll chop you in half!" Tie Ta yelled.

As Tie Ta spoke, the tall grass rustled before them as four figures leapt out in front of Tie Ta and Jian Chen.

Seeing the four shadows jump out, Tie Ta immediately went on the defensive, while Jian Chen didn't move a muscle except for a small smile on his face. Although they couldn't see the appearances of the four due to the darkness, but Jian Chen had long since guessed their identities.

When the four shadows reached 2 meters away from Jian Chen, they suddenly stopped. Jian Chen could finally see their faces clearly; two of them were middle aged men while there was an elder and a 30 year old female. All four of them had a look of astonishment and were stupefied as if they saw an inconceivable event.

"Honorable teachers, so it was you." Tie Ta finally recognized the four people and cried out in surprise.

The four people quickly regained their composure, but their eyes still revealed traces of shock.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, no wonder there are rumors about you being able to beat a Saint. I didn't think too much about it at first, but after seeing this, the rumors have to have some sort of truth to them. For a single person to use a corroded iron rod to kill dozens of Class 1 Magical beasts, even Saints who condensed their Saint Weapons wouldn't be able to replicate this easily." The elder said with a laugh as he praised Jian Chen.

Jian Chen laughed and said, "Honored teacher gives this one too much praise. My strength isn't as strong as you think; the wolves may have been Class 1 Magical Beasts, but their attack power wasn't that high. If I had came across a stronger Class 1 Magical Beast, then I'm afraid I would've struggled a lot more."

Hearing this, the elder looked at Jian Chen appreciatively before looking at Tie Ta with a laugh, "Tie Ta, your strength is also very strong, it's no wonder the headmaster noticed you and took you in as an apprentice."

Tia Ta scratched his head with a modest smile, but he didn't know what to say in response to that.

"Elder Yun, it would appear that we came here for nothing. These two are absolutely abnormal in strength, nothing in the 2nd region would be a match for them." Said the 30 year old woman.

The other 3 bitterly smiled as they listened to they had heard the howls of the wolves, they naturally knew that a student was in danger. For that reason alone they had all rushed towards the howls at the fastest speed possible to rescue them. On the way, each one of them prayed that the students would be able to hold on for as long as possible, but when they had arrived, they were subjected to an inconceivable sight. Two students who weren't at the Saint level had been able to fend off 20 or so Blue Wolves without trouble. In the end, they had been able to slaughter all 20 of them, and none of the 4 could believe their eyes at this end result.

"Oh, by the way, Changyang Xiang Tian, how did you detect us?" A middle aged man asked, his tone full of curiosity.

The other three teachers were curious to know as well as they stared at Jian Chen. The four of them were extremely interested in knowing how they were detected while hiding in the tall grass because they had not made a single sound or made any movement, so there was no way that they would have been noticed by Jian Chen.

Jian Chen laughed and said, "I had found out the moment the honorable teachers arrived."

"What! You found out the moment we arrived? How is that possible?" The woman cried out in disbelief.

The other 3 people couldn't believe what Jian Chen said either.

Jian Chen opened his mouth, "While I was fighting the pack of wolves, I was still paying attention to my surroundings. Otherwise, we might have been subjected to random attacks from someone else; how would I dare lose track of what was happening around me at such a crucial point?"

Hearing this, the four teachers nodded, approving of what Jian Chen had just said.

Jian Chen continued to explain, "The honorable teachers didn't make a single sound at all, but when you arrived I saw a bunch of obvious movements, so I found out since the very beginning."

Hearing this, the four people realized their mistakes as the elder sighed in admiration, "Amazing, just amazing! Changyang Xiang Tian, I really have no other choice but to admire you. And to think that when I was your age, I was nowhere near the level you are now." The elder then paused before saying, "Since you students aren't in any danger, then we'll take our leave now, after all, there are still students to save." Although the elder had said that, he looked as if he was reluctant to leave.

"Please wait!" Jian Chen suddenly cried out towards the four teachers. Pointing at Liang Xiaole who was still hiding in the tree, he said, "Honored teacher, could you please help escort this student out? She doesn't have the courage to stay here any longer."

The teacher frowned as he thought about it, "This won't be a problem, but even if she hands over two Class 1 Monster Cores, this will still be considered as a loss. After all, she didn't stay here for all 3 days."

"No, I won't leave, I'll definitely stay here for all 3 days." Liang Xiaole said from the treetop as she dropped 5 or 6 meters down onto the ground. In one long stride she went over to where Jian Chen was.

"Hey, these four teachers can take you out of this forest so you won't have to worry about magical beasts hurting you. Why don't you want to go home?" Tie Ta was rather discontent, since Liang Xiaole was really too cowardly. The moment she saw a magical beast she cried out loud; this really annoyed Tia Ta…

Liang Xiaole looked at Tie Ta timidly and whispered, "I don't want to go."

"Could it be you're no longer afraid of magical beasts?" Tie Ta asked curiously.

"I am!"

"So you're scared after all, then why don't you want to get out of here?"

"Because you two are still here."

With such a straightforward answer, Tie Ta couldn't find a response.

Jian Chen looked at Liang Xiaole helplessly before trying to persuade her, "Liang Xiaole, you should go with the teachers, the magical beasts in this forest are many, and so there's no guarantee that we can protect you."

Liang Xiaole's face became miserable as she realized that she would need to depend on Jian Chen. Imploring, she said, "Senior, please let me go with you, this was my first time seeing a magical beast and the first time I've been here. That's why I was scared initially. But I guarantee you, the next time we come across a magical beast, I won't cry out loud." After experiencing Jian Chen's and Tie Ta's strengths, Liang Xiaole wouldn't have to worry about getting into any trouble with those two around. Plus, Liang Xiaole had clearly that the four teachers all said that the 2nd region of the forest had nothing that they couldn't handle. So with such good protection, there was no way she would give up that easily.

Jian Chen suddenly felt a headache coming. Liang Xiaole was a pampered noble since birth, so she would definitely be a burden to them. When they battled any magical beasts in the future, they would have to look after her as well.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, with you and Tie Ta, there are no magical beasts in the 2nd region that can pose a threat to you. so you might as well take her along. Students should look out for one another. And besides, for you two, this shouldn't even be considered a test anymore." Laughed the middle-aged woman.

Jian Chen inwardly sighed in exasperation. Since even the teachers wanted Liang Xiaole to tag along, he couldn't find any reasons to object.

Although Jian Chen was giving in, Tie Ta was still not satisfied, but he didn't say anything. After this first day, he had already started to see Jian Chen as the pillar of the team. Whatever his decision was, Tie Ta would not object to it. Jian Chen's mind was better at strategy and he had more experience dealing with beasts than Tie Ta's. So it could be said that no matter what, Tie Ta would concede to Jian Chen.

After the four teachers left, Jian Chen and Tie Ta didn't pay attention to Liang Xiaole and instead went to the dead bodies of the Blue Wolves. Since it was over 20 Class 1 Monster Cores, they wouldn't dare to squander this.

Because the monster cores of the Blue Wolves were in their heads, Tie Ta and Jian Chen were trying to find a way to extract them. They definitely needed to strike and break at the part of the head where the monster core was, so Liang Xiaole's face went pale as she observed them. Perhaps Liang Xiaole had changed only slightly, it was almost as if she no longer felt out of her league. With great difficulty, she was able to quell the cowardly nature within her, as she diligently watched Jian Chen and Tie Ta work at extracting the cores. It was almost as if she was learning from the experience.

The night passed quickly and peacefully after the initial Blue Wolves raid.

As the dawn sun slowly rose over the edge of the horizon, the cross-legged Jian Chen finished his cultivation, and stood up to stretch.

Just as Jian Chen stood up, he heard Tie Ta start to awaken as well. He followed Jian Chen up, and although the two were in the middle of cultivating, they were still aware of their surroundings. They had put up a guard while cultivating, and as long as the wind blew through the tall grass, then the pair would be able to track anyone.

"Tie Ta, go find some dry branches for the fire. I'll go fetch the magical beast meat; it's about time we prepare some breakfast," Jian Chen said.

"Oh!" Without any objects, Tie Ta turned around and entered the forest to search for some dry firewood.

Soon after, Tie Ta carried over a pile of dry firewood. At the same time, Jian Chen had prepared a huge chunk of bloody magical beast meat from the Blue Wolves that had been killed by them last night.

Since there were no sources of water in the area, the magical beast meat was not washed. Instead, it was directly skewered with some sticks, and was placed above the bonfire to begin roasting.

Not long after, the roasted magical beast meat began to emit a fragrant aroma. Although it did not have any spices, the quality of the magical beast meat was originally high. Moreover, the higher the class of the magical beast, the more delicious its meat would taste, and the more beneficial it was to the body. It was said that a Class 5 Magical Beast's meat could even boost one's strength.

Perhaps because she could smell the magical beast meat's fragrance, Liang Xiaole awoke from her nap on top of the tree, and jumped down. The 5-6 meter height was nothing to Liang Xiaole, who had reached the 8th Saint Force layer.

"Wa…it smells so good." Liang Xiaole bounced over to the bonfire, and seeing the golden magical beast meat dripping in rich oils, she could not help but swallow hard. Although she had eaten many exotic delicacies, she had never eaten wild game like this before. After all, eating the same type of meat for so long, one would obviously think of anything else as more appetizing, even if it was just some cabbage.

Tie Ta shot a dissatisfied glance at Liang Xiaole, and murmured in a quiet voice, "Last night you were crying so loudly; now you've forgotten about it all so quickly. I hope that when we encounter more magical beasts later, you won't start wailing again."

Tie Ta's voice was extremely soft and unclear. Most likely, aside from himself, nobody would have been able to clearly hear what he had whispered, even Jian Chen.

Liang Xiaole looked at Tie Ta in curiosity, "Tie Ta, what are you saying?" Last night, the four teachers had called out Jian Chen's and Tie Ta's names, so Liang Xiaole had already learned their identities.

"Ah, nothing." Tie Ta waved his hands as if he was feeling guilty for something.

Liang Xiaole didn't pay any mind to it. She gazed at Jian Chen and Tie Ta and smiled, "No wonder you two are so powerful that you can kill 20 Class 1 Magical Beasts. It turns out that you two are actually Tie Ta and Changyang Xiang Tian. The fact that I was able to meet you two was really great luck." The current Liang Xiaole seemed to be an entirely different person from the person yesterday evening. After only a single night, she seemed to already have pushed yesterday's events to the back of her mind. Now, her face didn't show a single trace of fear and dread from the thought of magical beasts.

Jian Chen lifted the well cooked magical beast meat, and then ripped of a section, throwing it over to Liang Xiaole, asking, "There are a lot of magical beasts in this forest. Moreover, if we don't stay for 3 more days, then we definitely cannot leave. Aren't you afraid?"

Liang Xiaole accepted the piece of magical beast meat, and while she lightly chewed it, she said, "Although I'm still scared, I believe that I will eventually get used to it. In addition , the two of you are not much older than me, yet you both faced those fierce Blue Wolves last night without a trace of fear. The two of you even managed to slaughter all of them. This is much more impressive than those other boys. Hmph, those boys were so useless; the five of them together couldn't defeat a single magical beast. In the end, their incompetence forced me to get separated from my sisters."

Liang Xiaole suddenly stood up, and loudly declared, "I've decided now. I will definitely use these next two days to properly learn from you two seniors."

Hearing this, Jian Chen inwardly nodded to himself. Liang Xiaole's statement had already gained Jian Chen's approval. Although she was timid, and was extremely afraid of magical beasts, that wasn't important. The most important factor was she was willing to change her ways, and to learn more.

After all, nobody was born with the ability do and understand everything. All knowledge retained is a result of one going out to learn it. Of course, Jian Chen was an exception.

On the other hand, Liang Xiaole was born as the eldest daughter in a noble household. She had been spoiled since she was young, and had grown up in a sheltered environment. Obviously, she had never experienced any hardships. Thus, it was to be expected that she would inevitably be frightened during her first encounter with a savage magical beast. After all, this was the equivalent to an average person meeting a ghost for the first time; anyone would feel fear.

After eating breakfast, Jian Chen and Tie Ta both grabbed their respective weapons before continuing on with their journey. However, trailing behind them was the dainty Liang Xiaole, who was empty handed. She looked around herself carefully due to her own weapon being long gone after she had been separated from her group and chased through the forest.

Tie Ta lifted his battleaxe; his clothes were already swapped out. This time, he was wearing Blue Wolf leather along with some grassroot to hold it together. His academy uniform was long since torn apart from yesterday's battle to the point where he couldn't wear it anymore.

In the blink of an eye, another day came and went. By looking at the profits, they weren't as good as the first day, but they weren't bad either. In total, they had killed 70 magical beasts, making Liang Xiaole feel shocked.

On this second day, Liang Xiaole went through a major change. Ever since the spectacle with the Blue Wolves, her entire personality had transformed. At the very least, whenever she saw a magical beast, she wouldn't scream in terror anymore. And whenever Tie Ta and Jian Chen would slaughter any enemy magical beast, she didn't even flinch at the sight of the blood. She was slowly starting to adapt to her situation..

Not only that, but in the same day, she had unexpectedly learned much about the dangers of the forest and gained knowledge pertaining to them. Her capacity for learning was extremely high, and even Jian Chen couldn't help but admire it. Of course, what was important was looking at her talent for cultivation, since in the Tian Yuan continent, one's own strength was what dictated who they were over everything else.

Liang Xiaole was also extraordinarily smart. Although she wasn't very strong, she definitely didn't cause trouble for Tie Ta or Jian Chen, nor was she a burden like the two had previously thought she would be. She would stay behind the two, and whenever the two fought against a magical beast, she would stand far away so that she wouldn't get caught up in it.

After that day, both Jian Chen or Tie Ta had a new levels of respect for Liang Xiaole, and no longer belittled her in their hearts.

Later that night, the three of them sat by the campfire to count the pile of monster cores.

"Dear seniors, have you two really not condensed your Saint Weapons and become Saints yet?" Liang Xiaole asked as she stared at them with her bright eyes. What a strange question. Her clothes were already filled with holes from the trees and thorns that stabbed and cut into her, and her pretty face resembled a kitty from the whisker like cuts. Since there were no water sources, she had to rely on drinking the blood of the magical beasts in order to stave off the thirst, and so there was no way she could wash off the filth on her face.

"If we were Saints, why would I be using this axe?" Tie Ta looked at his bundled up and heavily nicked battleaxe with no small amount of dissatisfaction.

After continued usage with Tie Ta's strength, the giant battleaxe had finally worn out; the previously sharp edge was now becoming blunt after use. Even the previously sharp point on Jian Chen's corroded iron rod had nearly become flat.

Liang Xiaole's face was full of admiration as she stared at the two, "You two are really amazing; you're not even at the Saint level yet and you can easily kill Class 1 Magical Beasts. In my opinion, once you reach the Saint level, you will be able to kill Class 2 Magical Beasts with ease."

Jian Chen shook his head, "How would it be easy? These are magical beasts that were bred by the academy, so they have weak attack power. When we meet magical beasts with a stronger attack, then we will definitely have a harder time with it."

Liang Xiaole nodded her head and said grimly, "That's right. I've heard my dad say before that there are some amazing Class 1 Magical Beasts that can spit out some low level spells with a high amount of attack power. They're so strong, that some normal Saints aren't powerful enough to beat them."

Jian Chen looked at Tie Ta, who was focusing on the campfire, "Tie Ta, right now there isn't anything in the 2nd region that could stand a chance against us, so I want to move to the 3rd region. How do you feel about that?"

Tie Ta gave it some thought before saying, "Right, the 2nd region is already very easy for us since there isn't a challenge anymore. Okay then, Changyang Xiang Tian, I'll enter the 3rd region with you. It's time to see how strong the Class 2 Magical Beasts really are."

Hearing the two talk, Liang Xiaole who was sitting nearby said, "It can't be, you two haven't reached the Saint level and you still want to enter the 3rd region to fight Class 2 Magical Beasts? Without a Saint Weapon, there's no guarantee of survival, and the skin of a Class 2 Magical Beast is stronger than that of Class 1 Magical Beasts, so it's even tougher. You two only have a worn battleaxe and corroded iron rod, so that'll make killing even harder. Not only that, but the environment in the 3rd region isn't good at all; I've heard that there's even a marsh filled with poisonous vipers inside. There's a high chance you of losing your lives in the dangerous 3rd region."

Tie Ta laughed as he looked at my weapon, "That's right, Changyang Xiang Tian, over these past 2 days, our weapons have been in constant use, and my battleaxe has lost its sharpness. Even your own iron rod is almost flat, so it would be hard to kill Class 2 Magical Beasts."

Jian Chen laughed, "There's no rush, there are still plenty of students in the 2nd region. We still haven't met with other students because we're still far away from them. We should return tomorrow, and exchange monster cores for weapons, since the students would be definitely interested."

"Yea, that's a good idea," Tie Ta nodded in agreement.

Jian Chen continued, "Liang Xiaole, let's split up tomorrow. If you're with other students, then you should be able to safely pass through your last day. After all, anyone who has been able to endure 2 days here must have some real skills."

Liang Xiaole nodded wordlessly. Her expression was a bit disappointed; after all, she also knew of the 3rd region's dangers. She was unsure if Jian Chen and Tie Ta would be able to go against those magical beasts. If she continued along with them, even if Jian Chen and Tie Ta agreed to let her accompany them, she would only be a baggage that would hold them down.

The night passed without incident. Soon, the sky began to brighten. Jian Chen and Tie Ta finished their night of cultivation, and began to prepare breakfast.

After the three of them had finished eating, the sun had already gradually began to rise into the sky. They continued on their way; however, this time, they had begun walking back in the direction they had come from.

After two days of battles, the two boys had already become extremely skilled at sensing and avoiding danger, so it didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.

Under a large tree, nine students in tattered clothing were tiredly sitting underneath, catching their breaths. They were a group of commoners mixed with some nobles. At the moment, their clothes were ripped all over the place, with some dried out bloodstains covering them as well. They also sported injuries on their bodies, and not far from them was a carcass of a magical beast lying on the ground.

"Everyone, hold on for just a bit longer. This is already the last day. After this day ends, we can leave," a commoner student breathlessly said.

"It's unfortunate that we don't have enough Magic Stones yet, we still need five more. It looks like we still have to slaughter five more magical beasts to pass." said a young noble. Originally, the nobles hadn't been willing to stay together with the commoners, but after encountering the savage magical beast, they were immediately scared out of their wits. Faced with life or death, who would care about people's statuses? Protecting oneself was the greater priority. Thus, the few nobles had gradually decided to join the commoner students. After all, everyone knew there was strength in numbers. In addition, perhaps because the commoners had been raised in harsher environments, they did not show any signs of retreating when faced with savage magical beasts. This changed the arrogant nobles' views of the commoners. Eventually, they had all slowly become friends.

Moreover, after constantly fighting against magical beasts, the nine of them had become more comfortable working together. Eventually, they had formed an unexpected bond that held all of them together with close relationships.

At that moment, there was a movement in the grass off in the distance.

"Everyone, be careful. A magical beast is attacking." A student immediately reacted and loudly warned the others. Instantly, the nine of them stood up and stared with wary expressions towards the direction the sound had come from.

The grass swayed vigorously. Eventually, they saw a figure wearing beast leather swinging a large hatchet around, cutting down the weeds in his way. Right after the group noticed him, they saw that there were two other figures following behind him as well. Although their clothes were tattered, it was obvious that they were all wearing the Kargath Academy uniforms.

Perhaps because they had been traveling through the lush forest for so long, but their faces were dark, and they had random twigs in their hair. Only their general facial structures could be seen; their appearances were already indistinguishable.

Realizing that the figures were people and not magical beasts, the nine students immediately sighed in relief, and smiles slowly spread across their faces. At this point, if they could get those new people to join them, then the overall strength of their group would definitely rise. Hunting magical beasts would be much easier. In addition, all of them were smart enough to realize that these people who had stayed here for 3 days must be quite powerful.

Of course, these three people were Jian Chen, Tie Ta, and Liang Xiaole. After backtracking for half a day, they had finally discovered a group of people.

Since it was already the last of the three days, there weren't many people remaining in the forest. Most of them had already ran away, and so there were very few students that were still here.

When Liang Xiaole's gaze rested on a gorgeous girl standing amongst the group of nine, she showed a pleasantly surprised expression.

"Ah! Li Sha!" Liang Xiaole shouted out with an extremely excited voice, as she immediately flew towards the gorgeous girl.

Hearing a slightly familiar voice, the girl blinked her large, shining eyes, and gazed at Liang Xiaole, who was running towards her, in slight confusion. Currently, Liang Xiaole's face was covered with quite a bit of dirt, making her look like a calico cat. Even if this girl called Li Sha did know Liang Xiaole well, it was difficult for her to recognize Liang Xiaole with her current appearance.

Liang Xiaole rushed to the girl, and excitedly hugged her tightly. In a tone filled with joy, she said, "Li Sha, I hadn't imagined that I would've been able to see you again here. I thought you had already left the forest."

Hearing the overly familiar voice, the girl named Li Sha finally recognized who Liang Xiaole was. Pleasantly surprised, she said, "You…you're Xiao Le."

"That's right, Li Sha. I'm Xiao Le," Liang Xiaole spoke, her voice dripping with emotion as she confirmed her friend's words.

"Xiao Le, it really is you, that's great! I thought that you had already escaped from this place, I never would've imagined that I would see you here." Li Sha, the girl in front of Liang Xiaole, was just as happy, and continued to hug her once-thought-to-be-lost friend.

The two girls joined in a tight embrace, Li Sha was laughing out loud"Liang Xiaole, I didn't think we'd be able to meet again after losing each other in the forest This really makes me happy!"

"Hello," said a youth wearing clothing as tattered as the other two." I'm so glad to have met the two of you here. Um… How should I put this? I'm not sure if you want, but would you be willing to join our group? If you do, I can certainly guarantee that together our group will be much stronger and consequently will make hunting magical beasts a lot easier. And besides, danger lurks around every corner in these woods, it'd be better if we worked together." His tone was first likeable as he walked up to Jian Chen and Tie Ta, but as soon as he saw that Jian Chen's clothes were entirely crimson with fresh blood, he couldn't help but express shock. The youth seriously doubted that the blood was all from Jian Chen, because anyone who lost that much blood would definitely be beyond weak. There was no way such a person could firmly stand there, with such a sharp look.

Jian Chen shook his head, politely refusing, "I'm sorry, but we were just planning to leave this place, so we cannot join your group."

The youth had an expression of regret on his face; however, he still reconciled, "My two fellow students, although the magical beasts here are quite formidable, we have strength in numbers. As long as everyone is willing to work together, even if we meet two magical beasts at once, they definitely won't pose any threat. If everyone hands over two Class 1 Magic Stones, I believe that we will soon gather enough." The youth continued to press the issue. His gaze was quite sharp, and it was obvious that he had already realized that Jian Chen's and Tie Ta's strengths were above average.

"We really do not have any other options. The two of us have already decided to leave here, so we cannot join your group. Please forgive us." In order to reciprocate the formal request, Jian Chen's tone was just as amiable.

Hearing that Jian Chen and Tie Ta were set on leaving, the youth could not help but be disappointed. He really could not understand why, although only one out of the three days was remaining, the two people refused to stay. As long as they paid up two Class 1 Magic Stones, they'd be able to successfully join. Yet, Jian Chen and Tie Ta still chose to leave the area. Could it be that the two of them really wanted to pass up such an opportunity?

The youth thought that Jian Chen and Tie Ta had given up and wanted to leave the forest. He couldn't have ever imagined that their "leaving" actually meant leaving the second region to enter the third region, not actually leaving the forest.

At that moment, Tie Ta glanced at the battleaxe that one of the students was holding. His eyes lit up in happiness, and he directly walked over to the student with an intrepid air, and asked in a muffled voice, "Hey, if I give you two Class 1 Magic Stones, will you trade your battleaxe for them?" Asking this, Tie Ta pulled out the battleaxe on his back with one hand, and used his other hand to retrieve from his Space Belt, two Class 1 Magic Stones that were still covered in fresh blood.

It was at that moment that the group of people realized that the large battleaxe in Tie Ta's hands was covered in fresh blood. The entire surface had been dyed crimson. The appearance alone was beyond shocking; it looked as if was a murder weapon that had been constantly doused by blood. What was even more disbelieving was that the battleaxe made of firm metal as hard as steel, had already been completely riddled with cracks. Moreover, some parts of the blade were even bent.

Most people would not be able to believe this sight; they had all assumed that when Tie Ta had chosen his weapon, it had been like this from the beginning. There was no way they could've imagined that all of the axe's damages had been caused by Tie Ta himself.

The student with the intrepid air looked at the beaten up axe in front of him, which was so red that it looked like it had been made from blood, and was at a loss for a moment. When the other students heard Tie Ta's request, their eyes immediately lit up, and looked at the intrepid student with looks of envy, as if they were about to offer up their own weapons to trade with Tie Ta.

"My fellow student, I can exchange this sword of mine with you." A student carrying a giant one-handed sword walked over to Tia Ta and said with a smile.

Hearing, Tie Ta looked down at the battleaxe that was in his grip, shook his head and spoke, "No need, I still prefer to use the battleaxe."

Hearing this, the male suddenly had a face full of disappointment. At this moment, getting two Class 1 Magics Stones was more important than anything else. Not to mention him, if the others could, they would also be willing to trade their weapons to Tie Ta for two Class 1 Magic Stones. Even if their weapons were worth more than two Class 1 Magic Stones, they would still not hesitate.

The tall and sturdy male was not dumb. After considering it for a bit, he happily handed over his battleaxe to fulfill the exchange. Who would be willing to refuse such a profitable exchange?

After the exchange was completed, the group of people began to look at Tie Ta with a different light. A few of the smarter students had already connected the battleaxe's battered state to the possibility that Tie Ta had caused it. From this point, they could directly confirm Tie Ta's extraordinary strength. Otherwise, why else would he just casually hand over two Class 1 Magic Stones? This place wasn't like outside; before entering the forest, the school administration had already confiscated any devices the students had. They had even patted the student's bodies down to thoroughly check. There was absolutely no way the Magic Stone could've been brought in from the outside. The only way that Magic Stones could be gained inside the forest was to hunt magical beasts.

However, there was just one thing the people couldn't understand. If Tie Ta and Jian Chen had the strengths to hunt magical beasts, why didn't they want to stay in the forest for all 3 days? After all, the academy's rules clearly dictated that they could only pass if they stayed for 3 days and paid up two Class 1 Magic Stones. If only one was fulfilled, they wouldn't pass.

"Could it be that they don't care about the rewards? Or perhaps they had lied about leaving, and actually just didn't want to kill magical beasts together with the few of us?" Everyone could not help but think of these possibilities. When considering these thoughts, a few of the people immediately began to gaze at Jian Chen and Tie Ta with expressions of discontent.

Jian Chen did not pay any mind to their expressions. He looked at the Liang Xiaole and the girl she was hugging, and said, "Liang Xiaole, since you've found your friend now, why don't you just stick with this group? They have more people too."

Liang Xiaole slowly separated from the girl, and looked back at Jian Chen and Tie Ta. She nodded, "Then you two have to be careful."

Afterwards, Tie Ta and Jian Chen didn't bother wasting any time, and immediately left the area.

After the two of them had left, the girl called Li Sha asked in a resentful tone, "Xiao Le, who are they? They're so arrogant that they don't even think they should be with us."

"Li Sha, you're mistaken. It's not that they don't want to be together with you guys; they really do want to leave here." Liang Xiaole explained.

"That can't be!" Li Sha exclaimed in disbelief. "Li Sha, the fact that they could casually give away a Class 1 Magic Stone means that the two of them have the strength to kill magical beasts. Plus, when they were trading the two magical stones away for the weapon, it was obvious that they were planning on continuing to fight. How could they possible be leaving this place?"

"That's right, Xiao Le, you've been tricked by them." A youth standing on the side added.

Liang Xiaole smiled, "They're definitely leaving this place, but they didn't explain it clearly to you guys. They want to leave the second region, and move on to the third region to hunt the Class 2 Magical Beasts."

"What! Liang Xiaole, what kind of joke are you trying to pull? It's impossible for the two of them to go to the third region to hunt Class 2 Magical Beasts!"

"Could it be that their strengths have already reached Saint level? But that can't be right either. If they had reached the Saint level, then there would be no need to change weapons."

"Those two are really reckless, to want to go to the third region."

"They're definitely seeking death."

Immediately following Liang Xiaole's words, the group of people immediately broke into chaos as they began to discuss in a frenzy amongst each other. None of them thought that Jian Chen and Tie Ta would be able to survive the third region.

Li Sha pulled at Liang Xiaole's hands, and in a clearly disbelieving tone, she asked, "Xiao Le, they aren't really crazy enough to run over to the third region, right?"

Liang Xiaole nodded, "That's right, they really did go to the third region. Li Sha, you cannot underestimate the two of them, they're really formidable." Liang Xiaole said with conviction.

"Could it be that the two of them really are Saints?" Li Sha asked in shock. The school administration had clearly declared that all students that were Saints had to enter the third region. There was no way they could've appeared in the second region.

Liang Xiaole shook her head, "No, their powers haven't reached Saint level yet, because they still haven't condensed their Saint Weapons."

Hearing this, Li Sha's shock grew even more pronounced. Without reaching Saint level, surviving in the second region was already difficult enough, let alone being in the third region. After all, the magical beasts in the third region were Class 2 Magical Beasts, which weren't any small amount stronger than Class 1 Magical Beasts. The two classes could not even be compared.

Li Sha and Liang Xiaole were close friends. Therefore, Liang Xiaole didn't feel the need to hide anything from Li Sha. In a soft voice, she said, "Li Sha, I'll just tell you this. Yesterday, I personally witnessed the two of them kill 70+ magical beasts by themselves."

Li Sha was beyond shocked by this, as she exclaimed, "What! Xiao Le, are you joking? The two of them killed 70+ magical beasts by themselves in one day?" Li Sha was so astonished that she couldn't contain her voice. She had gradually become louder and louder, until the other 8 people were able to hear her quite clearly. In that instant, all of their expressions changed at the thought of Jian Chen and Tie Ta achieving what Liang Xiaole had said, and their expressions were beyond disbelief.

"Li Sha, what did you say? Which two people were able to kill 70+ Class 1 Magical Beasts in a day?" A youth asked. He could not accept the possibility that "the two people" were actually Jian Chen and Tie Ta, whom they had just met.

Li Sha tried to calm her breathing, and grasped at her chest before pointing to Liang Xiaole. In a trembling voice, she said, "Xiao Le said that she personally witnessed the two people just now kill 70+ magical beasts in one day." Li Sha's tone reflected the fact that she thought such a possibility was inconceivable.


	10. Monster Core hunt part 3

"It can't be, Liang Xiaole, what you're saying is ridiculous. Those two aren't even Saints yet; to think they could kill over 70 Magical Beasts in a day? That's impossible." A youth with a pike said incredulously.

"That's right, it's too ridiculous. Even a Saint wouldn't cut it; I think even a Great Saint wouldn't be able to kill that many Class 1 Magical Beasts in a single day, let alone half. I doubt their Saint Force is that unlimited." A bow wielding girl said with doubt.

At that moment, the youth that had invited Jian Chen and Tie Ta into the group said, "Liang Xiaole, do you know who they are? When did our Kargath Academy have such amazing people in it? They aren't Saints, but to easily defeat Class 1 Magical Beasts? Just who are they?" Saying this, he seemed to have immediately realized something, as his face rapidly changed colors.

Liang Xiaole's face looked proud as if she had done something honorable. With a laidback tone, she said, "I can tell you this: the one that just traded you a monster core for your battleaxe was the one that set the academy abuzz–Tie Ta: the headmaster's apprentice. The other person is the Freshmen Ruler of the annual Freshmen Competition–Changyang Xiang Tian."

Everyone cried out in alarm before talking amongst themselves in excitement.

"So it was those two abnormal people; no wonder their strength was that strong."

"It can't be, it's said that Tie Ta fought Lord Cheng to a standstill at the library…"

"That Changyang Xiang Tian was the one who beat the Saint Ka Di Yun in an intense duel. I was there watching the fight; Changyang Xiang Tian's strength was really amazing."

"I heard that outside the library, the middle ranked Saint Luo Jian wasn't able to deal with Changyang Xiang Tian, and was even forced to use his Saint Weapon in the end."

Without the burden of having Liang Xiaole anymore, Tie Ta and Jian Chen's speed had risen exponentially, and so the two soon reached the third region.

When they first entered the 3rd region, they initially saw no difference in the two regions. But the further they advanced, the more hellish it became. Compared to the 3rd region, the 2nd region could be called a paradise.

There were all sorts of magical beasts in the forest, and the land was full of swamps, so if one wasn't careful, they would find themselves stuck deep inside the waters. However, most of the swamps were man-made, so they weren't too deep. Otherwise, if no one came to rescue them, they wouldn't be able to escape with their lives.

Perhaps it was because of the ground, but there wasn't much grass in the 3rd region, so line of sight was much better than the 2nd region.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta cautiously trekked through the swamplands with a small amount of powder on them. This type of powder was a type of repellant that would prevent insects from biting them.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, it seems like you're familiar with the forest. Could it be you've been here before? How could you be this amazing?" Tie Ta said, while looking at the layer of green dust on his body.

Jian Chen chuckled and said, "I read up a lot of books in the library about various places, so my understanding of the forests is relatively high."

"Ah, no wonder." Tie Ta realized.

Right after Tie Ta spoke, Jian Chen's face stilled before becoming serious. At the same time, the ground began to shake, as if an earthquake was occurring.

But before Jian Chen could say anything, Tie Ta had already sprung into action, his new battleaxe coming to rest in both his hands.

Jian Chen glanced towards his left and spoke cautiously, "Tie Ta, be careful. This time it looks like we've come across a large magical beast."

"Yea!" Tie Ta nodded his head as the expression on his face grew solemn. Because they were in the 3rd region, this wasn't a Class 1 magical beast, but a Class 2 Magical Beast that was stronger than a Class 1 Magical Beast by many times over. It could fight against a Great Saint on even footing.

Although its attack power wasn't all that strong yet, its strength still couldn't be underestimated.

As the two of them nervously looked around, the magical beast finally came into view. Its entire body had red fur, and it spanned 3 meters tall and 5 meters wide. Protruding from its mouth, it had two long tusks, that looked as if they could penetrate through muscle with ease. If it weren't for the fact that the magical beast had a short nose, then Jian Chen would had thought that this was an animal that he had met in his previous world–the elephant. But this magical beast was a lot bigger than the elephant.

"Tie Ta, be careful, this is the Class 2 Magical Beast–the Flaming Cloud Beast. It can spit out fire from its mouth and is quite hard to deal with." Jian Chen uttered the magical beast's name. Because he had read so many books in the library, he could recognize most magical beasts, and even knew of some of their special abilities.

Tie Ta only nodded, as he wordlessly focused all of his attention on the Flaming Cloud Beast, ready to strike at any moment.

"Hou!" The gigantic Flaming Cloud Beast roared as it started to move each of its four hooves towards Jian Chen and Tie Ta. With each stamp on the ground, the earth would to shake.

Jian Chen's eyes flashed in concentration, "I'll attack it from the front; Tie Ta, you go around and attack it from behind." Charging forward, he jumped into the air straight towards the Flaming Cloud Beast's head.

The moment Jian Chen had moved, Tie Ta started to move as well, and circled around the beast to come towards its behind.

Standing on top of its head, Jian Chen let out a yell as his Saint Force gathered within his iron rod, before fiercely stabbing it into the head of the beast.

"Ding!" As if made of steel, the head of the Flaming Cloud Beast deflected Jian Chen's iron rod. It had only left a shallow line on its head, unable to penetrate through its defense.

Jian Chen's face changed into a grimace; although he knew the Flaming Cloud Beast had a strong defense, he hadn't thought that it would be so strong that his iron rod could do no damage to it. He had used all of his strength in that attack, and it had unexpectedly done virtually nothing.

"Ahe!" With a roar, Tie Ta jumped forward and used his enormous strength to slash at the butt of the Flaming Cloud Beast with his battleaxe. However he didn't do any better than Jian Chen. Although his battleaxe had cut through the skin of the magical beast, it had done no damage at all.

Their attacks had evidently angered the Flaming Cloud Beast, because it roared in response. Whipping its head back and forth, it threw off Jian Chen, who had been standing on its head.

As Jian Chen flew through the air, he quickly readjusted himself. Using both of his feet to jump off a tree trunk, he flipped himself upright onto a nearby tree branch.

After throwing off Jian Chen, the Flaming Cloud Beast turned around and tried to bite into Tie Ta.

Tie Ta immediately leapt aside to avoid its mouth, and simultaneously swung his battleaxe into one of the giant tusks.

"Ding!" The battleaxe smashed against the tusk, breaking it off near the root. However, after the tusk was broken off, Tie Ta's battleaxe chipped off in several places as well.

"Hou!" The Flaming Cloud Beast roared in anger as it stampeded towards Tie Ta once more.

Tie Ta's eyes flashed dangerously as it watched the Flaming Cloud Beast charge towards him. Without bothering to dodge, Tie Ta dropped his battleaxe onto the ground and used both of his hands to grab onto the remaining tusk and the root of the broken one, before pushing back at the monster, resulting in a deadlock.

At that moment, it was as if Tie Ta had turned into a fierce beast. Grunting out loud, his hands pushed against the Flaming Cloud Beast's tusks, as if trying to compare his strength to it.

Despite Tie Ta's heavenly strength, he was still a delicate tiny figure compared to the heavy and gigantic Flaming Cloud Beast. So even though his own strength wasn't lacking, he found himself being pushed backwards a large distance, his feet leaving behind two deep marks in the ground .

"Ah!" Tie Ta's eyes revealed a crazy look within them as he roared. The veins within his arms bulged as both of his arms swelled up in an instant, as he began to exert more force.

"Pa!" Another crisp sound was heard as the remaining tusk was snapped off by Tie Ta, causing the Flaming Cloud Beast to release a blood curling roar of pain.

Despite having used a good amount of his strength, Tie Ta was not yet satisfied, as he grabbed onto the freshly broken off tusk and used it to pierce it into the head of the Flaming Cloud Beast.

The tooth of the Flaming Cloud Beast was extraordinarily sharp, and was far stronger than Jian Chen's weapon. But despite its sharpness, it had only penetrated into the head by a tiny amount, causing a small amount of blood to spurt outwards.

Seeing Tie Ta use its own tusk to stab it, the Flaming Cloud Beast's eyes grew extremely red as it opened its mouth wide. With a loud roar, it unleashed a trail of fire that moved around, almost like a serpent emerging from its gaping jaws, with the intention of roasting Tie Ta alive. Instantly, the surrounding temperature had started to increase exponentially.

Sensing the astonishing heat radiate from the stream of fire, Tie Ta's expression immediately changed, as he desperately threw himself away from the attack. But despite his efforts he had not been able to dodge the attack of the fire serpent, and so his entire body caught on fire.

Seeing Tie Ta's body catch on fire, Jian Chen turned pale with fright. Immediately snapping off a thick tree branch, he jumped off against a tree trunk and sped towards the Tie Ta like a speeding bullet.

"Hou!" The Flaming Cloud Beast roared once more as it stamped towards the still burning Tie Ta. Opening its jaws wide, it tried to swallow him, not caring if he was on fire or not.

Just as the Flaming Cloud Beast was about to consume Tie Ta, Jian Chen had finally reached Tie Ta. Using both of his arms, Jian Chen waved the tree branch in his hand to drag Tie Ta a good 10 meters away from the jaws of the magical beast.

Jian Chen quickly dislodged Tie Ta from the branch and without caring for the fire's heat, he quickly extended his arms and tore away at the wolf leather Tie Ta was wearing.

Because the fire had caught onto the fur of the wolf leather, the moment it was removed from him, Tie Ta was no longer on fire. Tie Ta's tattered academy uniform was exposed underneath.

Tie Ta didn't bother to get up from the floor, but instead started to roll on the ground while complaining, "Hot, hot! I'm dying from the heat, it burns…" Seeing him complain like that, Jian Chen deduced that Tie Ta had not suffered any major harm. However, all of his hair had been burnt off, leaving him bald. Not a single hair remained; even his eyebrows and eyelashes had been burnt away!

"Tie Ta, are you alright?" Jian Chen asked in concern.

Tie Ta shook his head. He let out a long breath, and spoke in a muffled voice, "I'm fine, but the heat really got me; it was difficult to endure."

"As long as you're fine." Jian Chen sighed in relief. When he saw that Tie Ta was engulfed in flames, Jian Chen had honestly felt quite concerned for Tie Ta's well-being.

Suddenly, Jian Chen's eyes hardened as he turned back to look at the lush tree. His eyes gleamed as his mouth also rose up to show a hint of a smile.

"Hong! Hong! Hong!"

The ground began to shake again as the Flaming Cloud Beast stamped towards Jian Chen. With each step it took, the earth trembled. The Flaming Cloud Beast kept breathing fire out of its mouth, almost as if it was excited.

Tie Ta's face hardened as he stared at the approaching Flaming Cloud Beast, "Changyang Xiang Tian, this guy's skin is fairly tough. How do we go about killing him?"

Jian Chen also looked at the beast with a grave face, "The Flaming Cloud Beast's body is entirely covered by a strong layer of skin. Unless we reach the level of Saints, our weapons will barely be able to slice apart its pelt. At the moment, our only chance is to attack through the Flaming Cloud Beast's eyes to stab its brain."

As Jian Chen trailed off, the Flaming Cloud Beast roared, and opened up its jaws to release another serpent fire.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta both dove towards the side to dodge it. Jian Chen tightly clenched the iron rod, as he cried out, "Tie Ta, distract it for me!"

"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Tie Ta picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the Flaming Cloud Beast, and ran towards the opposite direction.

The rock twirled in midair before hitting the Flaming Cloud Beast precisely on the spot where Tie Ta had broke off the tusk.

Since the spot was still tender for the Flaming Cloud Beast, its eyes turned red with bloodlust as it began to breath fire at Tie Ta once more.

Jian Chen watched as Tie Ta distracted the Flaming Cloud Beast. He gripped the iron rod so hard that it had began to deform. Quickly running forward, he dashed towards the head of the Flaming Cloud Beast.

Jian Chen's speed was fairly fast. As he dashed across the ground, the grass around him swayed from the rapid air currents, which made him seem like he was flying.

In a short moment, Jian Chen had reached the head of the Flaming Cloud Beast. Not even caring for the intense heat from the streams of fire the beast was spitting out, he jumped into the air once more to land on the head of the beast. With the iron rod in his right hand, he quickly stabbed it into the eyes of the Flaming Cloud Beast.

Although Jian Chen had moved quickly, the Flaming Cloud Beast wasn't slow to react either. Before the iron rod could pierce the eye, the beast suddenly shut its eyes.

Jian Chen's eyes flashed for just a brief second as he saw the Flaming Cloud Beast close its eyes. Focusing, Jian Chen condensed his soul and willed it to enter his iron rod. As it covered the sharp point of the iron rod, he tried to ram it into the eyelid of the Flaming Cloud Beast.

The iron rod then pierced through the eyelid with no difficulty or resistance. Immediately, blood came pouring out of the eye of the Flaming Cloud Beast.

"Hou!" The Flaming Cloud Beast suddenly let loose a desolate cry that shook the heavens themselves, as it whirled and struck out randomly in all directions.

Jian Chen exerted more pressure on his right arm, pushing the iron rod in even deeper in attempt to strike at the brain from the eyes.

The Flaming Cloud Beast's screams became more desolate as it started to sway back and forth. It attempted to remove the iron rod from its eye, but the rod had already sunk in far too deep, making it difficult to remove. As it shook its head to remove Jian Chen, the pain grew more intense. After two attempts at shaking its head, the pain was so fierce for the Flaming Cloud Beast that it didn't dare to move at all anymore.

Endlessly wailing in pain, the Flaming Cloud Beast dropped to the ground, where it began its final struggle to fight. Although the wound wasn't fatal, the damage done to its cranial nerves was excruciatingly hard to bear.

Seeing the Flaming Cloud Beast fall to the ground, Jian Chen flashed in glee as he yelled "Tie Ta, quickly drive the iron rod deeper in." Given Tie Ta's heavenly strength, this task couldn't be more appropriate for anyone else.

"Alright, I'm on my way." Tie Ta cried out happily as he ran over, having now realized that victory was on hand.

Tie Ta approached the Flaming Cloud Beast quickly and grabbed the iron rod before pushing it one meter deeper into the eye of the Flaming Cloud Beast with his right hand. Only a small portion of the rod was left sticking out.

"Hou!" The loudest cry yet came out of the beast, causing Tie Ta and Jian Chen's ears to momentarily go deaf. With that, the Flaming Cloud Beast expended the last of its energy and slumped onto the ground. It stopped twitching, and its other eye gradually closed.

Seeing that the beast had finally died, Jian Chen and Tie Ta could not help but exhale in relief. The Class 2 Magical Beast Flaming Cloud Beast wasn't that amazing, but its defenses were extraordinarily high. Thus, killing it was an extremely difficult task.

"It finally died; this magical beast was too troublesome. It even breathed out fire and burnt away all my hair." Tie Ta touched his bald head with a depressed expression.

Jian Chen could only laugh as he watched Tie Ta gloom over his hair and clothes. "You should at the very least put something on!" He said as he took out another wolf pelt from his Space Belt. The wolf pelts were something he and Tie Ta had prepared; there were many sets stored within their belts just in case they needed a new change of clothes. Because they were in a forest where battle was a common occurrence; a change of clothes could not be in high enough demand.

Tie Ta took it without another word, and in a flash, he had transformed the pelt into wearable clothing.

Afterwards, Jian Chen and Tie Ta extracted the Monster Core and continued on their way.

After Jian Chen and Tie Ta disappeared from view, a red clad figure dropped down from the trees. The figure was a tall woman, around 30 years old, clad in fiery red clothing. Her appearance was not extremely beautiful, yet she gave off a gentle, calm air.

The woman stared at the carcass of the Flaming Cloud Beast with astonishment written clearly on her face. Letting out a deep breath, the woman muttered to herself, "Tie Ta and Changyang Xiang Tian, you two truly have well deserved reputations. To think your strengths are this amazing; you two aren't even Saints yet and you managed to use regular iron weapons to kill a Class 2 Magical Beast known for its defenses. I am truly awestruck; I must report this to the headmaster." After saying that, the woman immediately vanished into thin air.

As soon as the woman disappeared, another 5 youths came into the clearing. Each of the 5's faces were covered by darkness, so their appearances couldn't be easily seen. However, their shabby academy uniforms could be seen as they held their weapons up. Two held greatswords while another held up a large axe. The last youth with a tall and sturdy body held his sledgehammer up as he followed the group.

"Judging from the sound, the cry came from this area." One of the greatsword wielding youths said to the rest.

The axe carrying student nodded his head, "Not bad, if the magical beast didn't run too far away, then it should still be in the vicinity…:"He trailed off as his eyes widened at the sight in front of him, "You guys, look! What is that…" He pointed.

Hearing their friend, everyone's eyes drifted forward as they saw a mountain-like fiery red body lying on the ground that seemed to resemble a magical beast.

"Let's go look."

In a flash, all five of them approached the body of the magical beast. However, after they recognized the magical beast, their faces all grew serious.

The most experienced one amongst them got close to the body and touched the bloody fur with one hand before saying, "This is a Flaming Cloud Beast. Its defenses are very high, but its attacks aren't all that strong. The blood hasn't dried yet and is still warm, so it must have just died. It would appear that the howl we heard earlier was from this."

The sword youth looked around himself before looking at the direction of Jian Chen's footprints. "Come, let's go follow those footsteps and see who exactly killed this Flaming Cloud Beast. If their strength is good enough, we can add them to our group so we can easily hunt more beasts. But if they're weaker than us…"A small smile started to creep up on his face.

Hearing this, the other 4 youths all thought of the same thing, their faces revealing evil smiles. Soon after, the 5 of them immediately chased after Tie Ta and Jian Chen.

At the moment, Jian Chen and Tie Ta were cautiously walking within the forest. In order to protect themselves from magical beasts as well as a few of the swamps on the ground, the two of them were not advancing very quickly.

At that moment, Jian Chen's ears detected something. Holding his hand up to stop Tie Ta, he said, "Be careful, there's some people coming from behind us."

Tie Ta immediately stopped moving and turned around in curiosity.

In the blink of an eye, the people who had been following Jian Chen came into view. There was a total of 5 people, but Jian Chen couldn't see their faces since it was covered by the shade, but he could tell that they were strong from the amount of Saint Force they were emitting from their weapons.

When the 5 saw Jian Chen and Tie Ta, they let loose happy smiles to each other, as if they had mutually agreed on something. Increasing their speeds, the 5 of them quickly reached and surrounded Jian Chen and Tie Ta.

Seeing this development, both Tie Ta and Jian Chen felt a bad premonition within themselves.

"Dear students, might I ask what you're doing?" Jian Chen asked.

One of the youths brandished his sword with an evil smile, "You're asking us what we are doing?"

"Hand over your space belts obediently. We definitely don't want to embarrass you, but if you don't comply…hahaha…" The sledgehammer wielding student sneered at them.

Tie Ta's face grew angry as he heard the demand, "You want us to hand over the space belts? Hmph, don't even think about it." Tie Ta understood what was going on now; this was a roadside robbery.

Jian Chen patted the space belt on him gently with a smile, "The space belts with all our monster cores are inside, if you have the skill, come and get it then."

Although they knew that all 5 of them were Saints, neither Jian Chen nor Tie Ta felt a hint of fear.

"Hmph, since it came down to this, then don't blame us for this. Everyone, attack together." Immediately the 5 of them rushed forward to attack the two, but their attacks were not aimed at fatal areas. The 5 clearly understood that they were still all students stealing was one thing, and so was fighting, but they were not allowed to fatally threaten the opposing party's lives.

Jian Chen and Tie Ta immediately dove to the side. After two days of relentlessly fighting magical beasts, even the thick skulled Tie Ta had started to pick up battle experience. This paid off; as Tie Ta dodged the incoming attack, he instinctively swung his battleaxe at the leg of the assailant in a swift counterattack.

However, the group in front of them was proving hard to deal with. Just as the battleaxe was about to hit one of them in the thigh, a sword flew out and hit the battleaxe with a colliding sound.

"Deng!"

Metal met metal, as Tie Ta's battleaxe was obstructed. Due to Tie Ta's terrifying strength, the battleaxe continued to slide down the blade of the sword before stopping at the hilt. Immediately, the youth holding the sword suddenly felt his entire arm go numb, as the battleaxe smashed itself against his arm, causing his whole hand to shake.

The youth was astonished and cried out to his friends, "Everyone be careful, this guy's strength is abnormally strong. It's best if you don't get into arm's reach of him!"

Hearing the warning, the other two students fighting Tie Ta immediately became more cautious, and tried to avoid his giant battleaxe.

On the side, Jian Chen was fighting intensely with the other youth holding a sword. Although Jian Chen's weapon was only a corroded iron rod, his fighting capabilities weren't any lower than Tie Ta's. He wasn't any weaker either since he could easily use his agility to move around his opponent's moves. Seeing an opening, Jian Chen quickly stabbed his iron rod into the opponent's thigh with a lightning fast speed. Since this was another student at the academy, he didn't dare to aim to kill, but instead aimed to injure.

Jian Chen's speed was so fast that the student didn't have time to react, and could only watch in shock as the iron rod stabbed into his thigh.

"Ah!" The youth cried out in pain as his face drained of color, and sweat dripped down his forehead.

Hearing his companion cry out, the other sword wielder's face changed. Unable to fight Jian Chen personally, he cried out to his friend, "Harry, are you okay?"

Although that youth wasn't attacking Jian Chen anymore, Jian Chen wasn't going to let him off that easily. As Jian Chen moved towards him, the Saint Force condensed into Jian Chen's fist as he suddenly punched the youth in the chest.

Still moving at fast speeds, he refused to listen to the youth's complaints, or even wait for the youth to react. Jian Chen's palm struck out silently like a viper, and hit the other squarely on the chest.

"Peng!" The youth was sent flying through the air from Jian Chen's fist, as blood came spurting out of his mouth.

After dispatching the two, he immediately went to go assist Tie Ta. At the moment, Tie Ta was embroiled in a tough battle, and had already taken damage from the 3 people. The wolf pelt he was wearing had already been slashed apart and ruined by the blood that was leaking from his wounds. If it weren't for his extremely durable body and godly strength, the others would not have been afraid to fight against him and knock him to the ground.

With the appearance of Jian Chen, Tie Ta's pressure was alleviated by quite a bit. Jian Chen's strength in battle was extremely strong, and even normal Saints wouldn't be able to fight him on equal footing. After a few seconds of close combat fighting against Jian Chen, the three that had surrounded Tie Ta had already started to lose. Each of them were sporting new injuries, and soon after, all 5 of them were writhing on the floor in pain, no longer having the energy to move.

Jian Chen looked at the many wounds on Tie Ta, and asked with some concern, "Tie Ta, are you okay?"

Tie Ta nodded his head and said, "I'm fine, my body's pretty tough." He pointed to the group of 5 people writhing on the ground, "What should we do with them?"

Thinking about it, Jian Chen suddenly grew a strange smile on his face, "Tie Ta, go gather their Space Belts and take all of their monster cores before giving the belts back."

Hearing Jian Chen, the 5 people on the ground went rigid as their faces paled; a few of them were growing red with indignation. The cores in their Space Belts were earned over the span of 2 days of constant struggles for their lives; right now there was only half a day left until the 3rd day passed. If they were to lose all of their monster cores now, then they would definitely fail the mission.

Tie Ta laughed. Without hesitation, he immediately followed Jian Chen's orders, and grabbed all 5 of the space belts from them. Jian Chen stared them down with the bloody iron rod in his hand, like a tiger watching his prey to prevent them from making any sudden movements.

The five students originally had planned to fight back, but when they saw Jian Chen grip the bloody iron rod, they immediately gave up all thoughts about resisting, and obediently let Tie Ta take their space belts.

After gathering all of the space belts, Tie Ta brought them back to Jian Chen and began to count the monster cores one by one. In total, they had only 12 monster cores, all of which were Class 2 Monster Cores.

Jian Chen laughed as he grabbed 6 of the monster cores and put them in their own space belts before saying, "Tie Ta, let's split these in half, you get 6, I get 6."

"Alright!" Tie Ta said as he placed his share into his own space belt.

But when the 5 heard Tie Ta's name, all 5 of them went still, as their faces became unsightly to look at. When it came to his name, everyone in Kargath Academy had heard of him since he was the headmaster's apprentice. Although he wasn't a Saint, when it came to the entire school, no one dared to mess with him.

By this point, the 5 students started to regret their actions so much that their intestines became green. If they had known earlier that one of them was Tie Ta, then they wouldn't have tried to steal from the headmaster's apprentice no matter what. But now, not only were they robbed of what they were trying to steal, but they couldn't even get revenge now that they knew who he was; their sufferings couldn't be summed up in words.

TL Note: Intestines go green after the body dies. Basically they regret their actions so much they want to die.

After storing all of the Class 2 Monster Cores, Tie Ta was smiling even brighter. "Changyang Xiang Tian, it's because you're so amazing and beat all 5 of them so quickly. I, Tie Ta, just can't compare to you at all."

Jian Chen laughed and said, "Alright, let's get back on the road now and hope we can kill a few more magical beasts for the sake of our cultivation,"

Soon after, Jian Chen and Tie Ta didn't see the paralyzed looks of the 5 students on the floor as they walked away.

When the two disappeared into the forest, one of the youths started to curse out loud, "F*cking hell, what bad luck we have! To think we came across the apprentice of the headmaster and then failed the assignment. Not only that, but we had our monster cores stolen away from us without us being able to get revenge. Such wretched luck!"

The youth who had carried the sledge hammer earlier said in a hoarse voice, "That's not all of it, don't forget that it wasn't just Tie Ta who attacked us; there was another."

Everyone's eyes lit up, "You're talking about Changyang Xiang Tian."

The sledgehammer student nodded his head, "That's right, Tie Ta has the support of the headmaster, so we can't get revenge on him. But Changyang Xiang Tian doesn't have that same support."

"But Changyang Xiang Tian's strength is so strong though. The 5 of us couldn't beat him while he was alone, how would we ever beat him?" Another person asked.

"That's right, and the most important fact was that Changyang Xiang Tian was far too fast, we couldn't even dodge any of his attacks." One of the sword wielders said; it was the very same person who had his thigh pierced by Jian Chen.

Then, the person with the axe opened his mouth suddenly, "You guys forget that Changyang Xiang Tian already offended a lot of people at the academy like Lord Cheng and Master Luo, whose strength is higher than ours. If we can find an opportunity to join them, sooner or later we'll find a chance to strike at him."

In the blink of an eye, the colors of the sky began to dim. The magical beasts in the 3rd region were far less abundant than the ones in the 2nd a day had passed, but Jian Chen and Tie Ta had only found a few magical beasts. Everytime they encountered one, they experienced an arduous battle to kill it. Within that afternoon, the two of them had only gained another 7 Class 2 Monster Cores. Compared to their bounty in the 2nd region, this number was clearly insignificant. But when they thought about how the 5 students who attacked them earlier had only gained 12 Class 2 Monster Cores in 2 days despite being Saints, their hearts felt a bit more relieved.

It was a lot more restless in the 3rd region than the 2nd, since the monsters were a lot harder to kill. Also, since the number of monsters were less, more people were willing to rob others for their cores. After Jian Chen and Tie Ta had fought against the 5 students from before, they had another 3 encounters with robbers. At the very least each group had 4 people in it and at the most a group had 7 of them. But in the end, they had overcome each challenge victorious, and took all of the monster cores from the other groups. But what had made Jian Chen depressed was that the group of 4 that attacked them earlier didn't have a single monster core, but the other 2 groups had a total of 33 Class 2 Monster Cores in the end.

When night came, Jian Chen and Tie Ta sat down next to the fire as they roasted the meat of a magical beast. The two looked exhausted; compared to the 2nd region, the 3rd region was far more tiring.

At this point, Tie Ta's academy uniform was essentially gone. On his chest, his gains were showing. Only the most important part of his body was covered up by one of the extra wolf pelts, making him look like a savage. He was already covered with scars all over, and although they looked painful, they were only superficial wounds that didn't affect Tie Ta at all. This was a strong body that even Jian Chen looked at with jealousy.

Jian Chen, on the other hand, was not faring much better. Although he still stuck with wearing his academy uniform, it had already been dyed red from blood, staining the clothes black after oxidizing.

Suddenly, Jian Chen could hear the sounds of a distant battle. With his acute ears, he could heard the faintest of sounds.

Jian Chen stood up from where he was sitting, and looked off to where he heard the sounds, "Tie Ta, there's a fight going on over there."

Tie Ta didn't seem to care at all, "I bet it's someone fighting against another magical beast."

At first, Jian Chen thought so too, but the knowledge from his previous life had told him that these were the sounds of battle between people. In this environment, no matter what sound it was, Jian Chen was always on alert, especially since he had already been attacked by his fellow students multiple times earlier that day. Jian Chen had seen those older and more experienced students fall due to not always being on guard, Jian Chen didn't plan to end up like them.

Straining his ears to hear the most minute of sounds, Jian Chen tried to catch the sounds he heard earlier. But as soon as he furrowed his eyebrows in thought, he heard the sound again. It wasn't the sound of a person fighting a magical beast, but of two people fighting each other. In addition, the sounds were getting closer.

Jian Chen looked at Tie Ta and said, "Tie Ta, that's not the sound of a person fighting against a magical beast, but of two people fighting each other. The sounds are getting louder and louder, so you should prepare yourself; we might end up fighting." Jian Chen didn't choose to change locations. With their current strength, they could easily protect themselves. In addition, he wasn't afraid of anything.

Tie Ta immediately became interested as he grabbed his battleaxe and asked, "How many people do you think are fighting? Changyang Xiang Tian, do you think we should take a look?"

Jian Chen held the iron rod over the fire, "No need, even without our interference, they'll be approaching us soon enough."

"Ah!" Tie Ta sat back down after that with a look of serenity.

Soon enough, the sounds of battle became louder and louder, to the point where even Tie Ta could hear it. A group of figures quickly came scurrying out from the bushes, and ran to where the bonfire was.

Right behind them, a person wearing black flashed in, clearly chasing the other group.

"My two friends, the group behind wants to steal our monster core. Not only are they strong, but their numbers are greater than ours, I hope that we can combine forces and fight them off; otherwise, the hard work we had painstakingly earned over the last 2 days will be taken by them." One person shouted from a distance. Although Jian Chen and Tie Ta were only 2 people, if they joined them then they would be able to fairly go against the opposite party.

Hearing that voice, Jian Chen's eyebrows knitted together. He felt that this voice was very familiar to him, as if he had heard it before. However, he couldn't place a name on the voice; clearly it hadn't left much of an impression.

The four people that were running away were getting closer and closer to Jian Chen now. The person chasing them from behind suddenly sped forward and blocked off the four from moving forward anymore. Holding his giant sword up, he swung his sword at the ones who were still running.

The one leading the team fought back with his own Saint Weapon to block against the sword.

"Deng!"

The two people had a huge difference in strength that could easily be seen, as the one who had blocked the attack was thrown backwards violently.

With this distraction, the people chasing from behind had finally caught up and once more started to attack those who were trying to run away. There were 8 people that had come in pursuit, and all of them quite strong. The difference between their numbers only added to the pressure; without reinforcements, the ones who were trying to run away would ultimately lose.

"Luo Jian, just wait there, I won't let you get away." One of the ones who were running away snarled.

Hearing this, Jian Chen who was standing not too far away went rigid. The voice who spoke out was one he was familiar with; it was his older brother Changyang Hu.

"Big brother!" Jian Chen cried out in astonishment. Immediately his face became one of shock, and without hesitation, he rushed on over with his iron rod in hand.

Seeing Jian Chen move, Tie Ta began follow Jian Chen with his battleaxe in hand. For the past 3 days, Tie Ta had started to follow all of Jian Chen's commands without even realizing it.

Over the course of the 3 days, Jian Chen's strength had been fully revealed. With his experience of surviving in the forest and his strategy, Tie Ta had been humbled by Jian Chen's talents.

Flying across the ground, Jian Chen ran across the grass towards where the fight was taking place. His hands blurred as the iron rod flew through the air and pierced into one of the people his brother was fighting. He was relieved to hear that one of the people coming towards him was his older brother, Changyang Hu.

Although everyone had noticed Jian Chen and Tie Ta, and were all cautiously guarded against the two, Jian Chen had moved far too fast and without warning. In their limited lines of sight due to the darkness, no one had noticed to the iron rod in Jian Chen's hand.

The pointed end of the iron rod stabbed into the Changyang Hu's attacker, causing him to scream out in pain into the night sky as he whirled around. Without waiting for the guy to react further, Jian Chen immediately brought his leg to his chest and kicked him away into the air.

"Agh!" At this moment, Tie Ta also charged over. He swung his axe around, hacking away at the enemies, causing them to be batted away.

But the person Tie Ta was swinging at wasn't slow to react either. Watching the axe come down on them, his face didn't reveal the smallest amount of fear, and instead, he brought his sword up to block the axe.

"Deng!"

Once the sword met the battleaxe, Tie Ta and the other were brought to a deadlock with a loud clang. Their weapons shook; Tie Ta remained where he stood, while the other person was forcibly sent flying backwards.

With Tie Ta's godly strength, unless one was a giant, then he/she would stand no chance against Tie Ta. But the person who was fighting against him was no giant, and so he had taken a huge loss.

However, even with that development, Tie Ta's battleaxe chipped once more. Although the difference in strength was huge, if Tie Ta had not enveloped his battleaxe with his own Saint Force, then the battleaxe would have long since been destroyed.

"Ah!' Tie Ta let loose a snarl as he brandished his battleaxe. The group of robbers then dispatched another 2 people to face off against Tie Ta.

"Dang!" After his clear clang, another person who didn't understand how strong Tie Ta was collided against him one more time. Immediately, he was launched into the air by Tie Ta's battleaxe, which caused his battleaxe to chip even more.

Although Tie Ta's battleaxe was strong, it was far from being on the same level as a Saint Weapon, because every Saint Weapon had a great amount of energy within it. With a Saint Weapon, one could release an attack far stronger than normal blows. However, these people Jian Chen were fighting against were far too weak, and some of them were still at the primary levels of a Saint. While Tie Ta could go toe to toe with those primary leveled Saints, his battleaxe had been through far too many collisions.

"Be careful, his strength is extraordinarily high, and watch out for his battleaxe." The one who was blown away from him yelled as a warning.

Hearing his companion's warning, the remaining youth became extremely cautious. He dodged the battleaxe, and grabbed onto Tie Ta's Space Belt…

Jian Chen was moving around with the speed of lightning. as his iron rod flashed this way and that. With his body moving like a spirit's, he fought alongside with Changyang Hu. Already dyed red with blood, the iron rod was concealed under the shade of the night, as if it was a viper. As he wandered about the area in the darkness, his iron rod shot out silently, in a silent manner that was difficult for his enemies to detect.

Jian Chen was striking out with his iron rod so fast that even the person fighting Changyang Hu were not able to react in time, as his thighs were speared through with the iron rod.

The person's face grimaced in pain as he let out a painful scream, and clenched his hands in reflex. Changyang Hu was not courteous enough to wait for him to simmer down, and immediately sliced at his opponent's left shoulder.

Immediately, he cried out in pain again as his left arm was cut, the sword cutting the bone clean off, leaving his arm to be connected to his arm by a small amount of flesh. A torrent of blood came spurting out as he grabbed at it.

A cyan colored light illuminated the night as they all saw a giant sword appear and slash down towards Jian Chen.

"Wind attributed Saint Force!" Seeing the cyan light envelop the sword, Jian Chen's own face hardened. He immediately used the Profound Steps and melted away into the air like a mirage. As soon as he had faded away, the cyan sword immediately slashed through at the spot where Jian Chen had just been standing.

Jian Chen reappeared 3 meters away, not too far away. The person who had slashed at him stood arrogantly at the spot; wearing a raggedy academy uniform dyed red with blood, his face was covered by the night, so Jian Chen couldn't recognize him.

Jian Chen's eyes focused on the group. He snorted and said in a low voice, "Luo Jian, I didn't think I would meet you here."

The youth Jian Chen addressed was startled. He thought the voice was far too familiar, so he carefully stared at Jian Chen. Although it was nighttime, there was still a gleaming light in the sky that allowed him to see Jian Chen's face clearly.

However, after 3 days of constant fighting in the forest, without any clear water, everyone's faces was jetblack. It was impossible for people to see each other's appearances with ease.

However, the nearby Changyang Hu heard the voice of Jian Chen, and his face became one of shock; he couldn't believe his eyes or ears, "You're…you're fourth brother!" Changyang Hu was astonished; when it came to Jian Chen's voice, he was all too familiar with it.

Luo Jian suddenly came to a realization as he laughed, "No wonder I thought your voice was familiar. So it was Changyang Xiang Tian after all. I didn't think you would breakthrough to becoming a Saint; I really am amazed at that." After saying that, his eyes flashed dangerously.

Jian Chen turned around and face Changyang Hu, "Big brother, we'll talk later. Right now, I'll remove the crisis in front of us. You go help the others, and leave Luo Jian to me."

"Alright then, you take care of yourself fourth brother. Luo Jian's strength has already reached the middle ranked Saint level." Changyang Hu immediately went off to help his friends. Although seeing Jian Chen in the 3rd region was unexpected, he knew that now wasn't the time to try to figure out how or why.

Because Jian Chen and Tie Ta's sudden appearance, the originally disadvantaged Changyang Hu and his group were now on an even playing field. Moreover, because of Tie Ta's existence, the winds of battle were blowing in their favor. The playing field was now sloped towards them in a short amount of time.

Looking at the Luo Jian's dark and swarthy face, Jian Chen laughed, "Luo Jian, it looks like your plan to steal our monster cores will end in failure, your monster cores will be given to us instead."

Luo Jian's face grew angry as his eyes flashed dangerously, "Changyang Xiang Tian, you don't have the power to take away my monster cores."

Jian Chen looked at Luo Jian with some disdain before saying, "Then let's test it out; let's see if I have the power to snatch away your monster cores or not." Jian Chen said nothing more after that, as his body started to sway before charging quickly at Luo Jian. His hand held the iron rod and struck like a viper towards Luo Jian's chest, using the darkness of the night as its cover.

A flash of killing intent went through Luo Jian's eyes as he held his cyan colored sword up. He brandished it in an imposing manner before slashing at Jian Chen. Since Luo Jian was not only a middle ranked Saint, but also had wind attributed Saint Force, his attacks were even faster than before. So much that whenever he swung his blade an after image would appear.

Seeing the sword come down towards his head, Jian Chen dodged to the side, and continued to thrust the iron rod towards Luo Jian's chest.

Luo Jian's face changed as he realized the speed the iron rod was traveling at was extremely high. At that critical moment, his sword was too far out to bring it back to protect himself, but his reaction speed wasn't too slow either. Reabsorbing the wind Saint Force into his body, he forced his body to move backwards and bring back his sword.

Luo Jian's speed became faster; the moment Jian Chen's iron touched Luo Jian's clothes, he had already escaped from Jian Chen's range of attack. As soon as he had escaped Jian Chen's range, he immediately started to gather the Saint Force into his hands again to slash at Jian Chen again with the sword.

Luo Jian's attack was fairly simple, but to Jian Chen's eyes, it was a mess of an attack; not a single amount of technique or finesse was shown. However, Jian Chen still didn't dare to belittle it too much.

Jian Chen leapt into the air to dodge Luo Jian's sword. Immediately springing off from a tree trunk, he flew towards Luo Jian, his arms shaking, causing a faint mirror image to appear behind him. Jian Chen's arm was already traveling at high speeds, and the iron rod was traveling at the speed of lightning towards Luo Jian, so even the naked eye wouldn't be able to see it.

Luo Jian's eyes widened in realization as the iron rod had already reached him. This time Luo Jian was unable to defend himself from Jian Chen's attack nor was he able to dodge in time, resulting in the iron rod piercing deeply into his chest.

Luo Jian's face hardened as he stared at the impaled iron rod within him, a dumbfounded expression appearing on his face. Not only was there a tinge of disbelief on his face, but despair and fear as well. When the iron rod had pierced into him, he had been unable to mount any type of resistance against it. He had no defense, due to the iron rod being a lot faster in speed than he had been able to react to. Even if he was a wind attribute Saint, the iron rod had still skewered straight through him, causing a fatal injury.

What followed afterwards was beyond everyone's expectations. The moment Jian Chen's iron rod had pierced into Luo Jian's chest, everyone had stopped moving, Then, a pure amount of Saint Force transferred from the iron rod into Luo Jian's body. With the removal of the rod, the support disappeared, and Luo Jian dropped onto the ground.

When Jian Chen had sent his Saint Force infused soul into Luo Jian's body, it was as if his body had exploded. The energy rippled through Luo Jian's body like an energy wave, wreaking havoc within his organs.

"Pff!" Luo Jian immediately spit out a mouthful of blood. The fierce pain he was feeling inside his body was strange and unknown to him; he let loose a blood curling scream as he rolled on the ground.

Luo Jian's scream was abnormally desolate and immediately caught the attention of all those still fighting. However, as their eyes looked at the rolling Luo Jian, everyone except Tie Ta was stunned into silence. What they were watching caused them no small amount of shock, and many of them still couldn't believe their eyes.

Even after finishing off Luo Jian, Jian Chen didn't consider letting the group of robbers go. Holding his iron rod as he stood in the middle, he thought that it was lucky that he had met his older brother Changyang Hu now. If he had met Changyang Hu later, then Jian Chen was afraid that his brother would have lost all of his monster cores to Luo Jian's group and been left with a heavy injury.

With Jian Chen entering the battle, the opposition no longer had the upper hand. Although Jian Chen wasn't a Saint like everyone else, he undoubtedly was the most powerful amongst everyone present.

In his past life, Jian Chen was a traveling wanderer who had practiced the way of the sword, to the point where he had reached perfection with it. His moves were hard to detect since he moved so fast that it was inconceivable at some points. People who were relying on only their eyes wouldn't be able to see him. Since Jian Chen was only using an iron rod, his true strength could not be brought out. The opponents in front of him were mere students with little battle experience. With his extraordinary sword knowledge, he could quickly end the battle.

Until the end of the fight, no one had realized that the weapon Jian Chen was using wasn't actually a Saint Weapon, but actually just a common iron rod.

After the fight, all of the injured students that took part in the robbery sat down on the ground. Each one of them had a different type of wound on different spots, and they all looked at Jian Chen with terror.

Looking at the 8 youths on the floor, although Changyang Hu and his team of 4 were heavily injured, they couldn't help but reveal the joy of victory while looking at Jian Chen with stares of respectful admiration.

"Changyang Hu, I didn't think you'd unexpectedly have such an amazingly strong fourth brother. His strength really leaves me astonished!"

"That's right, Changyang Hu. Although we heard about your fourth brother's strength a long time ago, I didn't think that he was this amazing until now. Even the middle level Saint Luo Jian was defeated by him; if it weren't for your fourth brother's help, I'm afraid that our group wouldn't have been able to protect the monster cores we worked so hard to get."

….

The three youths and Changyang Hu had a decent relationship with each other. Each one of them sighed in joy as they excitedly discussed the recent events.

At this moment, Jian Chen arrived by Changyang Hu's side and looked at his wounds. With some concern he asked, "Big brother, do you have any serious injuries?"

Hearing this, Changyang Hu shook his head absentmindedly. Looking at Jian Chen with joy and surprise, he replied, "I'm fine, just fine. It's only a small wound. Don't forget, your older brother has the earth attributed Saint Force, which improves my defenses by a lot." Changyang Hu paused for a bit and then asked, "That's right, fourth brother, how did you come across the 3rd region; I remember that before we entered the forest, your strength was still before the Saint level? Also, how did you become so amazing, for you to even defeat Luo Jian?" Changyang Hu asked curiously.

Jian Chen laughed and said, "Big brother, this type of situation should be explained later over a nice and slow talk. Right now, we still have to take care of the problem in front of us." Jian Chen's swept his gaze over at the several students who were on the ground, "Big brother, how do you think we should punish these guys?"

Giving the question some thought, he said, "Fourth brother, this should be resolved by you. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid our group of four would have had all of our monster cores stolen."

Jian Chen's face had a deep smile on it as he said, "In that case, there's no need to be merciful to them. At the very least, we should collect all of their monster cores from their Space Belts."

Jian Chen's suggestion was quickly approved by everyone, and so under the poisonous and hateful glares of Luo Jian's group, they quickly grabbed all of the Space Belts and collected the monster cores inside. After checking their inventories, the 8 of them had a total of 130 monster cores.

Seeing such a number, even Jian Chen was astonished by the amount. Changyang Hu exclaimed in admiration, "I didn't think that they would have this many monster cores; it looks like they robbed many people before us. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to kill so many monsters in a span of 3 days with their strength."

Jian Chen nodded his head in approval before saying, "Big brother, let's split the cores into 6 parts so that we each get an equal share."

"That's no good." Jian Chen turned towards the new speaker; a youth from Changyang Hu's team, "Changyang Xiang Tian, the only reason we were able to obtain these monster cores was because of you and your fellow comrade here. We didn't do anything at all, so you shouldn't split the cores with us and keep it among the two of you."

The student's suggestion was quickly approved by the other two students. One of them immediately said, "Oz is right. Changyang Xiang Tian, if it weren't for you and your friend, the strength of us 4 wouldn't have been enough to win. I'm afraid we wouldn't have even been able to protect our own monster cores. But now that our monster cores are safe from their grasp, we are satisfied. The monster cores you got from Luo Jian and his friends are something we don't want."

"Right, Changyang Xiang Tian, you were able to get these monster cores with the combined strength of you and your friend. How could we be shameless enough to divide this up?"

Jian Chen's eyes flickered with a bright glow as he looked at their faces, searching for any signs of falsity. However, he could only see sincere honesty, with absolutely no traces of dishonesty. His respect for the 3 grew tremendously, but he truly did admire his older brother the most. He didn't think his older brother would be able to find 3 friends with such good personalities like this. Although Changyang Hu had the body and brain of a tiger, Jian Chen understood that his brother was not at all stupid.

Jian Chen laughed and said, "Everyone had contributed to this situation. If it weren't for you guys stalling them, if they had somehow joined forces with Luo Jian to attack me, I'm afraid that I would have lost then. Let's go with this, Tie Ta and I will take half of the monster cores, and you guys will take the rest and divide it amongst yourselves. That should be fine, right?"


	11. The result of monster Core hunt

"Haha, what fourth brother said is correct. This was something we all worked hard to do, so let's follow fourth brother's idea and split the monster cores. Half of it will be given to fourth brother and his other friend here. The other half will be equally split among the four of us." Changyang Hu laughed. He and Jian Chen were blood brothers, even though they had different mothers, it did not affect the relationship between them; he would not be stingy with him.

With Changyang Hu deciding for them, the other three students couldn't decline any more and took the monster cores excitedly. After splitting it up, each of the four had gotten at least a dozen, bringing them no small amount of excitement. With this amount, it was more than what they had gotten by themselves after last couple of days.

After this event, no one had any plans to stay put anymore, and after changing their location, they began to start a new fire to roast some meat.

The six people sat in a circle around the fire as Changyang Hu laughed, "Fourth brother, let me introduce you to everyone. These three are my best friends, Oz, Aoba, and Darian." He pointed at the three, "Fourth brother, Oz and Aoba are identical twins. I guarantee that when they wash the filth on their faces off, you won't be able to tell who is who!"

Jian Chen smiled and greeted the three one by one. After chatting for a while, they had started to get so familiar with each other that even Tie Ta's name was known by them.

Suddenly, Changyang Hu's face went still as he asked, "Fourth brother, I remember that before you went into the forest, your strength wasn't at the Saint Level yet. So why is it you're in the 3rd region? And now being so strong, you were even able to defeat the middle-ranked Wind Saint Luo Jian. Could it be that in the three days you were in the forest, you broke through?"

Changyang Hu's three friends paid close attention to this question; both Darian and the twins became interested after hearing Changyang Hu's question, and shifted their attention to Jian Chen. Jian Chen beating Luo Jian, had a huge impact on those three. Although they had long since heard the rumors that were circulating throughout the academy that he was strong, the rumors didn't exaggerate his strength to this extent.

Jian Chen laughed and held his iron rod up towards Changyang Hu, "Big brother, look. If I were a Saint, would I still be using a weapon like this?"

Changyang Hu looked up and down the iron rod; but it looked the same, he had already recognized the bloodstained iron rod in Jian Chen's hands and it was a still a normal rusty broken iron rod.

"That's…that's…" Changyang Hu's eyes went wide; he was put in a state of silent shock as he would have never in a million years thought that Jian Chen would be able to defeat Luo Jian using only a rusty iron rod, and if this didn't happen before his very own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it even if he was beaten to death.

At the same time, Darian and the twins looked at the iron rod in Changyang Hu's hands. The three of them were in disbelief, and then looked at Jian Chen as if he was a monster.

Seeing the incredulous looks on their faces, Jian Chen laughed and said, "With the combined powers of me and Tie Ta, there were no magical beasts that were a match for us in the 2nd region, so we decided to move on to the 3rd region."

Hearing this, Changyang Hu and the other three couldn't believe their ears. The 2nd region was filled with Class 1 Magical Beasts. Although they were weaker and had low attack power, even the average Saint would find surviving in the forest a difficult task, and Jian Chen was still obviously not a Saint yet. To say the 2nd region was no longer a challenge, even Changyang Hu and his friends would curse Jian Chen's absurd strength.

After a while, Changyang Hu and his friends finally recovered their senses. Changyang Hu continued to ask, "Fourth brother, you're not even a Saint yet and you're already this amazing. When the day comes and you become a Saint, I really can't guess how much stronger you'll become." Changyang Hu shook his head in awe, "Ah right, fourth brother, when do you think you'll become a Saint?"

Muttering more to himself, "I'm currently at the peak of the 10th layer. After this forest exercise, I'll aim to become a Saint."

Changyang Hu let out a breath of air in surprise and shock as he looked at Jian Chen, "Fourth brother, you're simply too amazing for words. Not even a few months ago, you were a new student at Kargath Academy who was only at the 8th layer. I didn't think that you would reach the peak of the 10th layer in such a short amount of time."

Hearing this, Darian and the twins couldn't believe it and their view of Jian Chen completely changed. The strength Jian Chen had shown was ridiculous, his cultivation speed was fast, and could border the line of the unimaginable. Jian Chen was definitely a genius among geniuses. At this moment, the three friends of Changyang Hu quickly came to a decision that, in the future, they would have to treat him well and avoid offending him.

Jian Chen laughed carefreely, "Big brother, I've noticed that within the 3rd region, many people are resorting to stealing monster cores from others. How did this happen?"

Changyang Hu exhaled before saying, "I don't know who started this myself, but it's said that during the 2nd day, someone started to steal monster cores relying on the fact that he had an enormous amount of people behind him. After this news spread everyone in the 3rd region started to follow suit, forming groups to rob cores. After all, Class 2 Magical Beasts are rare in comparison to Class 1 Magical Beasts, and are even harder to kill. Killing one beast would only get you one, but stealing from another is much easier than hunting, and with good luck, one would get a lot of cores as well.."

"So up until now, all the students started to steal from each other in the 3rd region. Many people have had their hard earned monster cores stolen away from them when they were alone or were smaller in numbers, The people who were injured decided to quit early, reducing the numbers in the area drastically."

"Why don't the teachers that are secretly hidden care about what was happening?" Tie Ta asked.

"As long as it isn't a life threatening injury or a critical point between life or death, then the hidden teachers won't show up. After all, the reason why we are in the forest hunting Magical Beasts is so we can temper ourselves, not to mention that we are being tested on how we can unite when being robbed; things like this happen often in the Tian Yuan continent. They're only letting us experience this sooner rather than later." Said the twins.

"Ah!" Tie Ta suddenly exclaimed in realization.

Jian Chen let loose a strange smile as he looked at his older brother and his friends. "Since other people have the audacity to rob us of our monster cores, why can't we rob them first? Are you guys with me on this?"

The group's eyes went bright as they heard Jian Chen.

"Fine, we'll do it. Changyang Xiang Tian, we will follow you." Darian said as he stood up and stared at Jian Chen, the heroic spirit reflected in his voice.

"Not bad, before our strength was lacking, and could only run away blindly. But now that Changyang Xiangtian is here, even if we meet a middle rank Saint, victory isn't impossible. Since this is the final night, let's have some fun with this." Aoba and Oz laughed.

"Alright, fourth brother, your big brother will listen to you." Changyang Hu said happily.

Tie Ta didn't have an opinion, as he had decided to follow Jian Chen without question for a while now.

After everyone had eaten their fill and discussed their plans, they decided to let the twins search the surroundings for targets, while the rest waited for their return.

The twins soon came back and reported that they saw a group of 5 people nearby.

Jian Chen immediately followed the twins towards where they had reported seeing them.

When Jian Chen's group had reached the place, the 5 people were preparing themselves to rest and were caught unprepared by Jian Chen's sudden attack. Since the group was only at the Primary Saint level, they were quickly defeated by Jian Chen and his group. However, they didn't have that many monster cores, only having around 20 or so.

After taking the monster cores, they didn't continue to harass them and immediately left the area.

For the entire night, Jian Chen and the others didn't sleep at all. Instead, they looked around the forest for more targets. There weren't many people in the 3rd region by now, and ever since he had started his search, he had only come across 3 different groups. But what he and the others found amusing was that halfway through the night, Jian Chen's group had came across another group who had the same idea they had, and so they had immediately started to fight. Both sides had 6 people each, and the other group even had 2 Middle Saints whose strength could be considered pretty strong. However, those two ended up being stuck against Jian Chen and Tie Ta. In the end, Jian Chen had come out victorious against his opponent, and gained 150 Class 2 Monster Cores as a reward. It would seem that many people had had their monster cores taken by this group.

After the third battle, aside from Jian Chen, everyone else was exhausted and could not continue fighting anymore. With no other choice, they spent the rest of the night searching for a secret place to hide and sleep. Although Jian Chen and Tie Ta had wanted to continue, the other 4 weren't in any shape to, and needed the two of them to stay behind and protect them against any surprise attacks.

Without saying, Jian Chen and the group had had an overwhelming harvest; excluding the first group with their 20 monster cores, the other two groups had 70 cores and 150 cores respectfully. So in total, they now had 260 cores.

Seeing this many monster cores, Jian Chen was starting to suspect that this was already half of the total amount of Class 2 Monster Cores in the 3rd region.

The night passed peacefully, and the group started to travel towards the outside of the forest. With some herbal medicine, Changyang Hu and the others' wounds were starting to heal slowly. Back when they had first entered the forest, the school administration had already prepared these medicines inside of their Space Belts.

At the moment, Changyang Hu and his friends were all wearing well made wolf pelts that made them look as if they had no injuries at all. The wolf pelts were the ones that Jian Chen and Tie Ta had made from when they had slaughtered that pack of wolves; they had collected quite a large amount of them.

The group of six headed to the edge of the forest, now that they had completed their 3 days. If they could protect the monster cores until they reached the outside, then they would be able to finish the assignment perfectly. And since the academy would not take the cores, they would be able to use it for themselves.

Traveling on the road, Jian Chen and the rest were very cautious. This was the crucial moment, since they could be ambushed at any given time. Jian Chen and Tie Ta were still full of life but Changyang Hu and the others were not in the best shape. If they were to be attacked by another strong group, then a fierce battle wouldn't be avoidable, which was what Jian Chen wanted to avoid.

Jian Chen walked down the road with Tie Ta behind him while the rest followed in a straight line as they reached to the part of the forest where the white enchantments of the forest rippled outwards. With the end of the 3rd day, the enchantment had suddenly transformed to help the students who were lost to find their way here.

Jian Chen's soul was lashing out around him as he checked his surroundings. The 3rd region was not as quiet as the 2nd region. Not only did they have to protect themselves from magical beasts, but they also had to protect themselves from other students. Other students were waiting around for the perfect moment to strike. So because of that, the closer one got to the entrance, the more dangerous it became. After all, the enchantment was showing a hole in itself to help lead students out, so many of them were trying to leave the forest and made themselves an open target for those other students waiting to ambush them.

A few hours passed, Jian Chen and Tie Ta were getting closer and closer to the 3rd region's exit. The whole journey had been fairly peaceful, although at regular intervals, they'd encounter a magical beast carcass. Sometimes, there would even be 2-3 magical beast corpses lying in the same location.

A few hours of rushing later, Jian Chen's group of people finally arrived outside of the 3rd region's exit. They smoothly passed through and entered the 2nd region. At this moment, everyone could not help but sigh in relief. They all understood that their monster cores were secured, because after leaving the 3rd region, no matter whether or not others had gathered the required 2 monster cores, their task was complete. There was nobody here that would dare to steal their monster cores.

"Haha, I hadn't imagined that the journey would be so peaceful. This was really against my expectations." Changyang Hu happily smiled, his tone also carrying a hint of excitement.

Aoba also happily said, "That's right, and here I'd thought that we'd fall victim to some surprise attacks. I didn't think that the path would've been so calm. It really goes against all expectations."

Darian reached his hand out to touch his Space Belt and smiled, "I guess the people stealing monster cores in the 3rd region had suffered from injuries, and didn't have the energy to keep stealing from others on the road. In addition, most of the people probably have the same mindset as us, only stressing self-defense. As long as we safely leave the third region, we'll be satisfied. None of us are interested in the idea of stealing monster cores anymore."

"Yea, that's right. What you said makes sense." Tie Ta nodded in agreement.

Jian Chen shook his head and said, "The situation is not necessarily as you think it is. Actually, throughout the whole journey, there were still some people lying in wait along the way in hidden places ready to ambush us, you guys just didn't notice them. Those people who were hiding in the darkness perhaps noticed that we have a large number of people, or they didn't have the ability to discern our strength, so they couldn't determine if they could destroy us. That's why they didn't make any movements towards us. Otherwise, there's no way we could've safely left the 3rd region."

Hearing this, the people's expressions all changed.

Changyang Hu let out a long breath and said, "It's a good thing fourth brother made sure we put on perfect acts of being completely undamaged. Otherwise, if the people knew that the four of us were injured, then I'm afraid we wouldn't have been so fortunate." Hearing this, Aoba and the others nodded in agreement, and looked at Jian Chen with gazes filled with respect.

"Alright, we should hurry up and leave. After we return back to the academy, you guys need to properly tend to your wounds."

The group of 6 continued to walk towards the 1st region. As they got closer to the exit, the nearby academy gradually entered their lines of vision. Although there were definitely many people that had been unable to endure the task and gave up on it in the middle, at least 1000 people had entered the forest together. Even if more than half had given up, there were still at least a few hundreds of people remaining. However, the mere hundreds of people spread out in the enormous forest rarely met each other, so it was rare to come across others that had decided to remain in the forest.

Jian Chen's gaze swept across the people around him that were similarly heading out of the 1st region towards the academy. He saw that most of the males sported naked torsos, and were covered with wounds. However, without any exception, all the people were in sorry states; their naked torsos were covered with dirt, and their faces could not be discerned with all the filth covering them.

Only some of the females still wore the academy uniforms. However, every single one of the uniforms had become beyond dirty, and there were tears all over the clothing. Even a beggar's clothing was better than theirs. In addition, they used wide leaves to cover the parts that their clothes didn't, making them look like extremely sorry figures.

Amongst all the people, there were also a few people who had serious leg injuries, rendering them unable to walk. They were being supported by their companions the whole way, and approached the outside of the forest, one step after another.

Perhaps it was because there were so so many people present here, but there were absolutely no magical beasts in the vicinity. It was even safer than before.

Soon after, Jian Chen's group followed the direction the enchantment in the sky pointed to in order to exit the 1st region, and they finally exited the forest. Outside stood the vice headmaster, Chang Bai En, wearing a white changpao, his back straight. Behind him stood a few teachers with indifferent expressions. Further behind them was a large group of nearly 1000 Kargath Academy students. They were split into two groups: the group on the right had many more times people than the other group. Among them, some people were wearing academy uniforms that were dirty, but had very few tears. On the whole, they seemed to be in excellent and undamaged conditions.

The other group of people seemed to be in a more difficult situation. Their uniforms were all tattered, and sported quite a few bloodstains as well. Underneath the multiple rips on their clothes, it could clearly be seen that they sported many scars on their bodies.

The people in the left group only had around 200 people. All of them were in sorry states; majority of the people there were wearing clothes made of bark or beast skins, and there were quite a few people that had naked torsos. However, all the people that walked out of the forest were organized by a teacher to join the group on the left.

Afterwards, Jian Chen's group sat on the grass quietly in wait. By this point, he had already understood that all the people in the left group were those that had stayed in the forest for the entire 3 days, and had just left the forest today. On the other hand, the people in the right group were all those that had escaped before the three days were up. According to the academy's regulations, no matter whether or not they had fulfilled the requirement of obtaining 2 monster cores, they still had failed their tasks.

As he swept his gaze in a circle, Jian Chen discovered that many people in the group he was with had melancholic expressions. There were others that looked at certain people with looks of deep hatred, looking like they would spit out flames from their eyes.

At that moment, Jian Chen sensed something. He turned around to look behind him, and saw two people with dirty faces and wearing clothing made of beast skins supporting a student in similar attire. The two were currently glaring at Jian Chen with poisonous hatred, as if burning him into a crisp with their gazes alone….a strong killing intent.

After Jian Chen closely examined the people, his mouth formed a hint of a sneer. He already recognized that the person was actually Luo Jian. Although Jian Chen knew that after what happened the previous night, he had definitely wronged Luo Jian, Jian Chen didn't pay much mind to it. In terms of strength, he wasn't below Luo Jian at all. Once he was able to condense a Saint Weapon and become a Saint, Luo Jian would no longer pose any threat to him.

In terms of family backgrounds, although Jian Chen wasn't completely sure of Changyang clan's strength, they were in no means weak in any sort of aspect. Luo Jian was the son of the leader of a major powerful clan in Forbidden City, but in Jian Chen's opinion, there was no way they Luo clan would bother harassing him over such a trivial matter. After all, Luo Jian had only been injured by Jian Chen because of the training event that the academy had sent them on. In addition, the situation at that time had been because Luo Jian had first attacked his older brother's group.

Afterwards, once all the people had walked out of the forest, Jian Chen's group had already increased to 300-400 people.

At this moment, the vice headmaster Chang Bai En walked up to the front of the crowd. He looked around at the group of figures that had obviously suffered through difficult situations. He smiled, and loudly said, "Very good. As expected, none of you have disappointed me. I hadn't imagined that this event to hunt magical beasts and stay in the forest for 3 days would have more people remaining this time time compared to all the previous times this event has been held. Now, I want everyone to maintain their current formations, and begin walking back towards the academy."

Afterwards, the entire two groups maintained their exact formations and quickly advanced towards the academy. In the middle of the journey, when they encountered a small river, everyone stopped to wash their faces clean, and then continued forward. Very soon, the group of students began to approach the academy, and in the distance, they noticed that a tall platform had been erected in the center of the sports field.

The group of people stopped in front of the platform, and the vice headmaster Chang Bai En, as well as a few teachers, walked up to it. The vice headmaster sat in the chairperson's place with a straightforward and imposing manner, and calmly said, "The Magical Beast hunting competition occurring once every three years has now officially ended. According to the academy's regulations, after the task has been completed, we will now hand out awards. I would like to now invite all the people who had stayed in the forest for the entire 3 days and have gathered 2 monster cores to simultaneously step forwards."

As soon as the vice headmaster finished speaking, a hundred or so people immediately walked out of the crowd.

"I will now first count the Class 1 Monster Cores. Students who have hunted Class 1 Magical Beasts, please come up to the platform for the number of monster cores in your possession to be counted." The vice headmaster continued.

Following this, all the students that had killed Class 1 Magical Beasts, including Jian Chen and Tie Ta, all walked up to the platform. There stood a teacher specifically assigned to count and record the number of monster cores that the students had earned.

Among the 100 or so people, the majority of them were below the Saint level, and had performed the event in the 2nd region. When the students that had Class 1 Monster Cores walked up, only a bit over 30 people remained. This made the students who did not know much about the 3rd region's conditions puzzled.

Although the 3rd region had Class 2 Magical Beasts, they all had low attack powers. To a Saint that could condense a Saint Weapon, although it may not be possible for him/her to fight against the magical beast alone, as long as a few people worked together, hunting magical beasts within the 3rd region shouldn't be very difficult to do. It should definitely be easier than a student that had not yet reached Saint level killing a Class 1 Magical Beast. After all, the Saint Weapons that Saints had were extremely powerful, and far surpassed those other ordinary weapons.

Logically, the chances of students completing their task in the 3rd region should definitely be much higher than those in the 2nd region. However, nobody had imagined that the event would end up with such results. In the 3rd region, only a pathetic 30 or so students had completed their task; this was much less than the people who had finished in the 2nd region.

When the first student arrived in front of the teacher inspecting the monster cores, he directly reached into his Space Belt and lightly placed all of his monster cores on the table. This student only took out 3 monster cores total.

Casually gazing at the three Class 1 Monster Cores, the approximately 50-year old teacher in charge of inspecting the monster cores nodded and said, "Hm, not bad. You qualify as passing. What's your name?"

"Teacher, my name is Cheng Yun Feng." The youth that was being inspected excitedly said. The two words "Not bad" had already confirmed the fact that the teacher was praising him. Being complimented by the teacher was the greatest honor to him.

The teacher picked up his pen and recorded the information on a piece of paper, then said, "Go return your Space Belt to the academy. Take your monster cores. Also, this is a badge that represents your glory. You must take good care of it." The teacher pulled out a badge from underneath the table, and handed it to the student.

The student happily agreed. He carefully and tenderly took the badge, and then he walked off the platform in extremely high spirits.

"Next!"

Afterwards, students walked up in succession and handed their monster cores to the teacher for appraisal, and at the same time, were recorded. The process was quite fast, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of people had already passed. The fewest number of monster cores among them so far had been 2, and the greatest number had taken out 8, which had made the appraising elder shocked for a moment.

At this moment, a handsome youth with an uncommon air walked up to get his monster cores inspected. The youth had a small scar on his forehead, and it was most likely a recent wound from the forest, since the scar still had a hint of blood on it.

The youth calmly walked up to the elder, and quietly took off his Space Belt. He then began to take out monster cores, and placed them on the table one by one. As he was removing them, the table was soon filled with 6 Class 1 Monster Cores, yet he showed no signs of stopping. He continued to leisurely pull out monster core after monster core from his Space Belt. His movements were not at all rushed, and the expression on his face was indifferent, giving off the impression that he was a very steadfast person.

When the youth first took out 6 monster cores, the inspecting teacher finally returned to his senses. A smile slowly formed on his face, and he lightly nodded while looking at the youth with an expression of admiration.

Soon, the youth had already pulled out 10 monster cores. At this moment, the expression of the elder inspecting the monster cores finally changed. His gaze towards the youth was no longer one of admiration, but one of shock. For a person that had not yet reached Saint level to have managed to kill and retrieve monster cores from 10 Class 1 Magical Beasts was definitely not an easy task. In addition, the youth still showed no signs of stopping, signifying to everyone present that he still had not finished removing all of the monster cores from his Space Belt.

The students lined up being this youth had already been shocked speechless at the sight of him pulling out so many monster cores. They thought back to how much energy they had consumed in the forest just to retrieve 2-3 monster cores; to them, this had already been quite an amazing achievement. Many of them had even felt quite proud of this. Yet the youth in from of them had pulled out many times more monster cores than they had received within the last 3 days in a single breath. How could they not be shocked? Having fought against the Class 1 Magical Beasts quite a few times, they had been left with a deep realization that without reaching Saint level, using an iron weapon to kill Class 1 Magical Beasts with such thick skin was extremely difficult.

The youth did not pay any mind to the onlookers' expressions, as if he didn't see them. His movements had still not stopped, and he continued to pull out monster cores from his Space Belt one after another without a pause. Soon, there were already 15 monster cores piled onto the table, yet the youth still didn't show the slightest trace of stopping. He was still equally unhurried as before, and he very calmly continued to take out more monster cores from his Space Belt.

At this moment, all the teachers on the platform were gazing at the youth in shock and disbelief. For a person not yet a Saint to have killed more than 10 magical beasts within 3 days would perhaps be possible if he worked together with 5-6 people, but to have hunted so many magical beasts in 3 days alone was really something the teachers felt was impossible, unless those magical beasts were all seriously wounded.

Sitting on top of the platform, the vice headmaster Chang Bai En smiled and said, "His name seems to be Mu Tian. He only entered the academy last year. After only a single year, he went from the 8th Saint Force layer to the peak of the 10th layer. This speed is quite good. It's said that he even tried to attack a Saint. Although he ultimately failed, it has to be admitted that the Mu clan really did send a good young successor this time."

The vice headmaster Chang Bai En paused for a bit, then shifted his gaze towards the lined up Changyang Xiang Tian and Tie Ta and muttered, "I really anticipate Changyang Xiang Tian's and Tie Ta's harvests. It's said that the two of them had actually ran to the 3rd region to hunt Class 2 Magical Beasts on the last day. Their powers are clearly not at the Saint level yet. Heavens, to have relied on iron weapons to hunt Class 2 Magical Beasts, that is really too unfathomable. If I hadn't personally witnessed the two of them kill a completely undamaged Class 2 Magical Beast, I would not dare to believe that such a situation was true. It seems that not only did the headmaster accept a good apprentice, Lore City's Changyang clan which has been silent for so long will soon return to their former glory because of Changyang Xiang Tian in the near future."

Only after the youth had taken out 23 Class 1 Monster Cores did he finally stop. He calmly looked at the inspecting elder taking notes, and said, "Teacher, these are the monster cores I retrieved."

The elder in charge of the inspection swept a glance at the 23 monster cores and let out a long breath. He looked at the youth with bright eyes full of emotions and asked, "What's your name?"

"Mu Tian!" The youth replied in an indifferent tone.

The elder's gaze gradually became more serious as he continued to ask, "Mu Tian, did you gain these monster cores by yourself, or did you work together with others for them?"

Mu Tian's expression did not change, as he had long since expected this would happen. "Teacher, these monster cores were gained by my hard work alone."

Hearing this, the elder's expression immediately changed. He looked intensely at Mu Tian with an expression beyond admiration, then smiled and nodded, "Good! Good! Good! Mu Tian, right? Very good. Your results are extremely outstanding. I hope that you continue to work hard in the future." The elder did not ask how Mu Tian had gained the 23 monster cores; that was not important at all. The important part was that he knew that these monster cores had been gained through Mu Tian's hard work alone. After all, in the Tian Yuan Continent, strength represented everything. As long as one could achieve the final victory, no matter what kind of dishonest methods were used, nobody would say anything about it.

Hearing the elder's words of praise, Mu Tian could not help but smile.

At that moment, the elder took about a sky blue belt and badge. He handed them over to Mu Tian and said, "This is a Space Belt you had previously given us, and this is your badge. Take proper care of them."

Mu Tian calmly accepted the Space Belt and the badge of glory, and re-inserted the 23 monster cores into his Space Belt, before walking off the platform. From beginning to end, Mu Tian had not shown a single trace of arrogance or pride; he always had the same, indifferent expression.

Jian Chen's gaze followed Mu Tian until he walked off the platform. In his heart, he had already committed Mu Tian's name to memory. Based on his intuition, he felt that Mu Tian was probably quite a complex person, and hadn't used his full potential yet either. In the future, he would definitely accomplish much more; it was simply still unknown which of the two paths he would choose to advance on.

Because Mu Tian had taken out over 20 monster cores, the following students didn't induce any type of reactions when they removed their monster cores. Majority of them had only the minimum 2 monster cores; the number of people that had more than 2 was very few. Aside from Mu Tian's 23 monster cores, the highest harvest had been the previous 8 monster cores.

The inspection went by quickly, and it was soon Jian Chen's turn. At this moment, the gazes of the vice headmaster sitting in the chairperson's seat, as well as a few other teachers, immediately lit up. Their eyes closely followed Jian Chen, showing expressions of extreme concentration. The vice headmaster Chang Bai En who had previously been reclining in his seat could not help but straighten his back, as he gazed at Jian Chen, full of expectations. Although he knew that Jian Chen had killed quite a few magical beasts in the forest, he didn't know the exact numerical value of this "quite a few".

Jian Chen calmly walked up to the elder in charge of inspecting the monster cores and lowered his head to look at the 2 meter long table. A troubled expression showed on his face, and after some hesitation, he said, "Teacher, can you please change to a larger table?"

"Huh?" Hearing Jian Chen's words, the elderly man who was closely inspecting paused, and asked in confusion, "What did you just say?"

Seeing that the table was originally not very large, and that there were already some items of little value on top of it, Jian Chen could only show a helpless expression. This table was really too small; there was absolutely no way he could fit all of his monster cores that pretty much completely filled his Space Belt.

"Yes, teacher. Can I please ask you to change this table to a slightly larger one? This table is too small." Jian Chen continued.

Hearing Jian Chen's words, all the students lined up behind him, aside from Tie Ta, showed expressions of shock. They all gave extremely strange looks at Jian Chen, and quite a few suspected that they had heard him wrong. In their opinion, if you needed to hand over your monster cores, then just hand them over. Why would you bother caring about how large the table being used was? Wasn't this simply asking for trouble?

"Who is that person? He's really reckless, to even ask the teacher to change tables…."

"He's really an idiot, to dare tell Teacher Steve that the table was too small in front of so many people. The most unfathomable thing is that he wants Teacher Steve to change tables for him. Heavens, for him to confront Teacher Steve about the table being used, does he not know that Teacher Steve is the strictest teacher in all of Kargath Academy?"

Quite a few people began to point at Jian Chen in discussion, looking at him as if he was an idiot.

The inspecting elder's expression changed, as he furrowed his brows and stared severely at Jian Chen. He snorted and then in a low voice said, "What's your name? You even tried to confront a teacher like this; this table was prepared ages ago. It's not something that can be changed just because you said it should be changed."

Jian Chen's words not only irritated the inspecting teacher, even a few of the teachers judging from the back could not help but knit their brows as they looked at Jian Chen with displeased expressions. Jian Chen's words were completely disrespectful to them as teachers.

Not a single one of the people even considered the fact that Jian Chen had requested for change in tables because the current table had no way of fitting all the monster cores inside his Space Belt.

Of course, there were some teachers who were exceptions; their demeanors were still very calm. Their faces only showed a light trace of a smile. These few were the ones who watched Jian Chen and Tie Ta viciously kill a group of Blue Wolf Kings.

At this time behind them, a beautiful girl with a pair of bright eyes stared suspiciously at Jian Chen's figure, frowning in deep thought and whispering softly, "Strange. Why do I feel that his shadow is a little familiar, maybe I've met him somewhere?" The girl's eyebrows furrowed as she thought hard. Suddenly, her eyes flashed, and a familiar figure appeared in her mind. The next moment, her eyes exposed a look of surprise accompanied by a magical color. She unconsciously shouted, "Changyang Xiang Tian, he is Changyang Xiang Tian!"

The girl's voice was not concealed at all so many people heard her. The moment everyone heard the name Changyang Xiang Tian, their faces started to change as the students who had been recklessly hurling insults Changyang Xiang Tian started to shut their mouths like obedient children.

Changyang Xiang Tian was a name that was prominent throughout Kargath Academy and was practically heard of by everyone. However, not many people had actually seen what he looked like, most of who did were freshmen. Jian Chen's face was rendered indistinctive with all of the mud and grime that left very little of his face unblemished, his clothes were also extremely tattered to the point of him looking like a beggar. With his current state of appearance, no one would be able to recognize him even when he was lined up in front of everyone.

After hearing Changyang Xiang Tian's name, the teacher in charge of inspecting the monster cores went blank as he gave a closer look. Apparently, Changyang Xiang Tian was a name even the teacher was familiar with, however, that didn't mean that Jian Chen had the proper authority to be able to command him to bring a new table. The teacher's mouth dropped open one more time in disbelief before preparing himself to speak again, but at that moment, Bai En from the academy board called out, "Someone bring out a bigger table immediately!" There was a smile on his face instead one of discontent, instead, he was looking at Jian Chen with anticipation as if he had already guessed the reason why Jian Chen had wanted a bigger table.

The vice-headmaster Bai En looked as if he was 34 years old, but his prestige within Kargath Academy was exceptionally high, second only to the headmaster himself. When he had spoken, all of the teachers went silent. Aside from a few teachers, the other teachers had not understood what the vice headmaster was trying to say. To think that he had asked for a bigger table even though the original table was more than enough to register a student's monster core's count, there was just simply no use for a bigger table.

Soon after, a 3 meter long and 2 meter wide table was lifted up to the stage, and the original table that had been used by the inspecting teacher was taken away.

"Changyang Xiang Tian, you should be satisfied with this, right?" The inspecting teacher sat in front of the larger table. His attitude towards Jian Chen was not very amiable; it was evident that Jian Chen's request for a larger table had left an extremely bad impression on the 50-60 year old teacher.

Seeing that the elder's heart had some sort of prejudice against him, Jian Chen could not help but smile bitterly. He hadn't imagined that just because of something like this, the teacher would actually have something against him. This had definitely gone against his expectations, but Jian Chen didn't mind it too much.

Afterwards, Jian Chen directly removed his Space Belt. Unlike the other students that had removed the monster cores one by one, he directly grabbed a handful of at 10 monster cores and pulled them out, lightly placing them on the table. All of these monster cores were faint white in color, and were about one circle larger than the size of an adult's finger.

Seeing Jian Chen pull out 10 monster cores at once, although the appraising elder was previously unsatisfied with Jian Chen's earlier actions, he could not help inwardly nodding. However, just as the appraising elder had assumed these were all the monster cores Jian Chen had, Jian Chen's hand once again reached into his Space Belt, and continue to pull out a great handful of monster cores. Once again, there were 10 of them in his hand.

Now there were already 20 monster cores on the table in front. Seeing this, the appraising elder's eyes lit up. He looked at Jian Chen in astonishment and inwardly thought to himself, "This Changyang Xiang Tian's reputation is indeed not undeserved. Although he has not yet reached Saint level, he was able to defeat a Saint. It seems that he really is quite skilled."

Following this, Jian Chen continued to reach into his Space Belt and once again pulled out a handful of monster cores to gently place onto the table. "Dong dong dong" sounds rang out as the hard monster cores came into contact with the wooden table.

Seeing Jian Chen once again take out 10 monster cores from his Space Belt, the expression of the appraising elder had instantly changed. His eyes now reflected complete shock, since by now, Jian Chen had taken out 30 monster cores, 7 more than Mu Tian had.

For a student that had not yet reached Saint level to have killed 30 Class 1 Magical Beasts within 3 days inside the forest was undoubtedly a record. Even the elder that had gone around the world and witnessed many things before could not help but be dumbstruck by disbelief. Although these magical beasts had relatively low attack power, it was by no means an easy task for a student only at the peak of the 10th Saint Force layer to kill them.

When Jian Chen grabbed 30 Monster Cores, the teacher evaluating him became astonished, along with the other teachers behind him as they watched this inconceivable sight. Only a few teachers who had inside information on the matter had a smile on their faces while the students lined up behind him had been dumbstruck when he had pulled the 30 monster cores out.

But Jian Chen didn't bother to look at the stupefied expressions on the teachers and students around him. While everyone was staring at him, his hands went into his Space Belt once more and grabbed another bunch of monster cores to put onto the table. When his hand refused to stop, the teachers all looked on with a sluggish expression, as the cycle repeated and he reached into his Space Belt and grabbed yet another handful…

Soon after Jian Chen had placed a couple handsful of monster cores onto the table, the big official table was filled with monster cores. Although they were all Class 1 Monster Cores, because they came from different species, the cores would not be the same size or shape. Small cores were almost the size of the big toe of a person, and the biggest cores were the size of a small child's fist.

Whether it was a student or teacher, both groups had been put into shock by Jian Chen. For a person who was not yet at the Saint level state to hunt and kill almost 100 Class 1 Magical Beast in a span of 3 days; if someone were to try to say this to someone else, they wouldn't be believed. At this moment, aside from a small amount of people, every other person would not believe that it was Jian Chen who had killed all these magical beasts. Many people had thought that the huge amount of monster cores were a result of many people helping him collect monster cores or that he had stolen them. The consensus was that he could not have killed all those Class 1 Magical Beast by himself.

Seeing the official table being covered by a little under 100 monster cores from Jian Chen, the teacher in charge of counting them let out a deep breath. Although in his heart he thought that Jian Chen had to have fought many other groups for their monster cores. He had to admire Jian Chen's strength however, even when it came to dishonorable acts like thievery, the teachers would not care since this is a common event in the Tian Yuan continent.

Seeing almost 100 Class 1 Monster Cores from Jian Chen, the vice headmaster Bai En let loose an incredulous look. He knew in his heart that the reason why the 2nd region had so many less people hunting for monster cores was because they had been robbed by Jian Chen. There was no doubt that Jian Chen had stolen all of the monster cores from someone else, otherwise, everyone would have passed the test with the monster cores they earned by a legitimate show of strength from killing magical beasts.

With this recent development, the vice headmaster Bai En was quite emotional today as even his heart shook. Though at the same time, there was a small amount of doubt, could it be that Jian Chen and Tie Ta could easily kill magical beasts without even adding qi to weapons? Were they just not using cultivation anymore? Unexpectedly, Jian Chen and Tie Ta had both killed around 100 magical beasts over the span of the last three days.

The look in the teacher's eye was quite complicated. Soon after he had started to count the monster cores on the table; the teacher didn't ask how Jian Chen had acquired these monster cores since the definite conclusion was already clear in his mind.

The monster cores were quickly counted. The elder in charge of the appraisal said, "There is a total of 98 monster cores here. This is your Space Belt; please return the academy Space Belt now." The elder handed Jian Chen an emerald green Space Belt; this was the Space Belt that Jian Chen's father, Changyang Ba, had gifted him when he had left the Changyang clan.

Jian Chen looked at the academy Space Belt in his hands for a bit, and after some hesitation said, "Teacher, for the time being, please take care of my belt here. After this evaluation ends, I will return the academy Space Belt."

Hearing this, the elder knit his brows, and asked in confusion, "What?" Perhaps it was because Jian Chen alone had gained nearly 100 monster cores, but the elder's attitude towards Jian chen had clearly changed.

"Teacher, I still have Class 2 Monster Cores in my Space Belt, so I still need to take part in the Class 2 Monster Cores evaluation later." Jian Chen plainly said. Right now, the evaluation was only being held for Class 1 Monster Cores; the evaluation for Class 2 Monster Cores wouldn't begin until after this one finished.

"Hm, is that so? You still have Class 2 Monster Cores?" Hearing this, the elder had disbelief written on his face, and he looked at Jian Chen with suspicion. It wasn't only the elder, the other teachers sitting on the platform were currently looking at Jian Chen with identical expressions.

Jian chen nodded, "Yes, Teacher!"

Hearing this, the elder let out a deep breath. His gaze towards Jian Chen grew solemn. Only now did he realize that he had really underestimated the rumors that had been going around about Changyang Xiang Tian. However, he didn't bother wasting his breath on this matter, and waved his hand, "Alright, store away these monster cores. You can continue to attend the second round of evaluations."

Afterwards, Jian Chen placed the 100 or so monster cores back into his Space Belt and left the platform. However now, both the teachers on the platform and the students surrounding him looked at Jian Chen with completely different expressions. Their gazes were complicated, mixed with jealousy, envy, and even some with disdain.

After walking off the platform, Jian Chen didn't rejoin the crowd. Instead, he walked up to the people waiting for the Class 2 Monster Cores evaluation that were currently lined up in wait. All the students awaiting evaluation had already reached Saint level, and aside from Changyang Hu's group, all of them looked at Jian Chen with expressions of shock and doubts as he walked up to them. They hadn't even met Jian Chen in the 3rd region, and it was obvious that they found it extremely abnormal for a person not yet a Saint to be able to show off Class 2 Monster Cores. The really found it extremely hard to believe that Jian Chen had actually entered the 3rd region and killed Class 2 Magical Beasts; in addition, he had at least managed to gain two Class 2 Monster Cores.

Lined up behind Jian Chen was Tie Ta. After Jian Chen walked off, Tie Ta also arrived in front of the appraising elder.

At this point, Tie Ta being the Kargath Academy's headmaster's apprentice was no longer a secret; all the teachers recognized him. When Tie Ta walked up, the appraising elder could not help but smile as he said, "Tie Ta, I wonder what your profits were like this time?"

Tie Ta laughed, but did not say anything in reply. Just as Jian Chen had done, he reached his hand into his Space Belt and directly pulled out a large handful of monster cores, before lightly placing them on the table. Tie Ta's fists were slightly larger than Jian Chen's, so each one held 14-15 monster cores every time.

Seeing the 14-15 monster cores on the table, the appraising elder began to smile, as he inwardly thought to himself, "As expected of the person that the headmaster has his eye on. Although he has the heart and body of a tiger and seemed to lack shrewdness, his talent really cannot help but make one sigh in admiration."

After taking out 14-15 monster cores, Tie Ta's movements didn't stop at all. He once again reached into his Space Belt to pull out a fistful of monster cores. The students and teachers all stared at the table as gradually, the number of monster cores increased more and more, until there were multiple dozens.

Only after Tie Ta had finally taken out a little under 100 monster cores did he finally stop. Seeing all the monster cores he had gained, Tie Ta laughed in a straightforward manner and happily said, "Teacher, these are the monster cores I have gained."

At that moment, all the teachers and students in the vicinity were shocked speechless. They all stared at the slightly under 100 monster cores piled on the table with expressions of disbelief.

The appraising elder let out a long breath, and then looked at Tie Ta intensely, and slowly said, "Good, good. Tie Ta, you've done very well, and have not lost any face for your master." Saying this, the elder lowered his head and began to count the monster cores. He did not inquire how Tie Ta had gained those monster cores. In his heart, he had already linked together Tie Ta's means of collecting the monster cores with Jian Chen's.

The elder quickly finished counting the monster cores and said, "There are a total of 97 monster cores here." Saying this, the elder recorded it into his notebook.

After he had finished taking note, the elder took out an exquisite, extremely well-made, black Space Belt adorned with a few gems, and handed it over along with the badge of glory to Tie Ta, and said, "Tie Ta, this is the Space Belt that you had left in our care, as well as the badge of glory that you have earned. Collect your monster cores, and then return the academy Space Belt to the academy."

It was obvious from a single glance that this high-grade Space Belt had been given to Tie Ta by the headmaster after he had become the headmaster's apprentice. Otherwise, a child born into a commoner family like him would have absolutely no way of purchasing such a high-grade item like this Space Belt. Although these types of Space Belts were not uncommon in Tian Yun Continent, it was not something that ordinary people could own.

Tie Ta's gaze was locked onto the black Space Belt for while, before he shook his head and said, "Teacher, I would like to keep this Space Belt under your care. I still have Class 2 Monster Cores."

"What! You also have Class 2 Monster Cores?" Hearing this, the appraising elder looked at him with an extremely shocked expression, with a hint of disbelief hidden as well.

Hearing Tie Ta's words, the other teachers that were sitting on the platform exchanged glances of disbelief with each other. They hadn't imagined that after Jian Chen, there would be another student not yet at Saint level that had managed to gain Class 2 Monster Cores.

That appraising elder hesitated for a bit before replying, "Tie Ta, did you go to the 3rd region?" Although the elder's question was overstepping his responsibilities, he could not ignore the strong feelings of curiosity in his heart. Even though he had already guessed the answer, he would definitely not dare to believe it unless Tie Ta confirmed the situation.

Tie Ta nodded, and spoke in a muffled voice, "Yes, I went to the 3rd region."

The appraising elder continued to ask, "Did you gain your Class 2 Monster cores from killing magical beasts?" Despite the fact he was far overstepping his boundaries, nobody tried to stop him, since it was not only the elder that was extremely curious to know the answer. Even all of the teachers on the platform felt the same way, and they wanted a clear-cut confirmation.

"A portion of it was gained from Changyang Xiang Tian and I killing magical beasts." Tie Ta had no intention of hiding anything, but he only said half of the story.

Hearing this, the elder asked in shock and disbelief, "What! You're saying that you and Changyang Xiang Tian killed Class 2 Magical Beasts?"

Tie Ta nodded and replied, "Yes."

This answer made all of the teachers on the platform stunned. Many of them couldn't believe what they had just heard; for two students not yet Saints to have killed Class 2 Magical Beasts was unprecedented in the history of Kargath Academy.

Afterwards, Tie Ta stowed away his monster cores and walked off the platform. He joined the group of people waiting for Class 2 Monster Cores evaluations, and stood behind Jian Chen. However at this point, Tie Ta and Jian Chen had already become the center of everyone's attention, and the people who had failed the task that were currently standing behind them looked at the two with quite a lot of jealousy. There were many of them that had been pathetically running all over the place to escape from the pursuits of Class 1 Magical Beasts, and they had never imagined that Jian Chen and Tie Ta, who were not at higher levels than them, would manage to not only gain a hundred Class 1 Monster Cores in the 2nd area, but also gain Class 2 Monster Cores. This made them feel extremely disoriented, and quite a few of the upperclassmen felt embarrassed as well.

Soon afterwards, the Class 1 Monster Cores evaluation ended. The one that had the highest number of monster cores was Jian Chen, with a total of 98 monster cores, while Tie Ta was in second place, with one less monster core. The two of them had many more times monster cores than Mu Tian, who was in third place.

Amidst the crowd of people, Mu Tian's eyes flashed in astonishment at Jian Chen and Tie Ta, and he murmured to himself, "Tie Ta, Changyang Xiang Tian, your reputation is well-deserved. You two are indeed experts that can defeat Saints. I'd love to have a chance to interact with the both of you."

Although he had had his spotlight taken away by Jian Chen and Tie Ta, Mu Tian did not show a single trace of dissatisfaction. He was still just as indifferent as before, as if this was an insignificant matter that had absolutely no impact on him.

At that moment, Changyang Hu walked up to Jian Chen with a happy expression, and said in a low voice, "Fourth brother, the two of you are really too abnormal. Within 3 days, each of you managed to gain nearly 100 monster cores." Changyang Hu's tone barely concealed his happiness, and he looked at Jian Chen proudly.

Jian Chen smiled wordlessly. Suddenly, his gaze shifted as he sensed something. He looked behind him to see a youth with tattered clothes glaring at him with poisonous hatred. The youth's gaze did not bother to conceal his strong killing intent, and it was so severe that Jian Chen could not help but furrow his brows.

However, when Jian Chen inspected the youth's appearance a bit more closely, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. The youth was Luo Jian, who had all of his monster cores plundered by Jian Chen. Luo Jian's monster cores had been entirely stolen from him mercilessly, and he had even been heavily injured. Although it did not greatly affect his movements, since he and his group of companions had completely lost all of their battle spirit, they had been unable to gather the energy to steal others' monster cores or hunt magical beasts afterwards. Thus, Luo Jian's group had ended the task with failure.

Jian Chen smiled, his expression showing a hint of disdain. He paid absolutely no mind to Luo Jian. In regards to people like Luo Jian, Jian Chen had met many of them as a wanderer in his previous world. However, very few of them had the ability to really stir up storms.

The second round of monster core evaluations soon started. The students that had reached Saint levels and finished their task walked up to the platform in succession. However, there were two exceptions among them: Jian Chen and Tie Ta, who had not yet reached Saint level, while everyone else had.

The teacher evaluating the Class 2 Monster Cores was still the same elder, and the assessment progressed quickly. Because of all the stealing that had occurred in the 3rd region, the several hundred students' monster cores had ultimately been gathered by the 30-40 people present. Thus, all of them had much more than 2 monster cores, and many people had over 10 monster cores in their possessions. There were even quite a few people that had gained 23 monster cores.


End file.
